Role of Nanobiotechnology in Bioremediation

 By Nisha Goyal
Microbiology Department

 Green technology, an approach for the removal/bioremediation of the pollutant, has been gaining interest over physical and chemical methods. The concept of nanotechnology for green and clean environment has expanded interest in various sectors due to its multidisciplinary approach. The utility of nanotechnology has been extended for the treatment of pollutant from a broad range of sector, e.g. dyes, pharmaceutical and medical.


·       REMEDIATION

The clean up or removal of contaminants from the environment is “environmental remediation”. It uses various methods to remove and/or degrade environmental contaminants in polluted soil, surface water, ground water as well as in sediments. It involves two techniques:

                                  I.          Ex situ: Removing the contaminated soil, sediment, or water from the polluted sites and then treating the pollution above ground.

                                II.          In situ: Clean up the contamination while it is still in the ground without the need off-site treatment.

·       BIOREMEDIATION

           It uses biological system for the removal of pollutant via two approaches that is aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. It remediates pollution from air, aquatic or terrestrial system. It reduces/remove hazardous waste that pollutes the environment.



·       NANOBIOREMEDIATION  ( Nano + Bio + Remediation )

                   Nanobioremediation green technology which focuses on removal/bioremediation of the pollutant. It is gaining interest over physical and chemical methods. Nanobioremediation uses microbial activity to enhance the removal of pollutants. It not only reduces the overall cost of cleaning the large scale contaminated sites, but also reduces the clean up time. The major advantage is that various aspects of processing such as size of the particle, optical properties and its shape can be modified as per requirement, which is not possible in other treatment methods.

Nanoparticle:  A nanoparticle is a small particle that ranges between 1-100 nm in size. They can exhibit significantly different physical and chemical properties to their larger material counterparts.

I.          Top-down approach refers to sliding or successive cutting of a bulk material to get nano-particle and the starting material is in solid state.

II.          Bottom-up approach refers to the build up of a material from the bottom: atom by atom, molecule by molecule.


·       APPLICATION OF  NANOPARTICLE IN BIOREMEDIATION

                I.          Groundwater and wastewater remediation.

              II.          Solid waste remediation

            III.          Heavy metal pollution remediation.

            IV.          Uranium remediation.

              V.          Hydrocarbon remediation.

            VI.          Removal of phenolic pollutants from municipal waste water immobilized laccase enzyme using nanoparticle .

          VII.          Nanotech coating can enhance electricity output from waste water.

        VIII.          Nanobioremediation can also be used to clean up oil spill.

 

 

·       ADVANTAGES

                I.          Nanobiotechnology include certain characteristic features such as clean and green nanoparticle for the removal of contaminant.

              II.          It allows to play with various aspects of processing such as size of the particle, optical properties and its shape.

            III.          The capability of multiple uses.

            IV.          Reduces overall cost of cleaning.

              V.          Also enhances microbial activity.

 

Bioremediation helps cleaning the polluted environment like soil, groundwater and marine environment by metabolizing, immobilizing or absorbing toxic compounds from their environments. Research undertaken in bioremediation shows the possibility of designing more feasible bioreactors or products. Further these systems could be used for completely removing pollutants from the environment.  

Nanotechnology integrated with microorganisms has provided a green approach towards the bioremediation of industrial effluents. The nanoparticles that are generated by the help of microorganisms provides superior avenues for cost-effective and sustainable effluent remediation. Enzyme nanotechnology has provided stable, highly active and long lasting enzymes that offer multiple uses. In order to exploit its full potential this technique should be pursued further at a commercial scale.

               

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