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Bioaugmentation

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20 views

Bioaugmentation

Uploaded by

kapali.dibyak
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Bioaugmentation

Bioaugmentation is the compelling method of engineered bioremediation, based on the


inoculation of different environments such as soil, activated sludge, sediments, water etc.
with microorganisms characterized with desired catalytic capabilities for the purpose of
enhancing the biological activity of the existing populations.

Bioaugmentation is mainly carried out for the degradation of pollutants and is recommended
for sites where

1. The number of microorganisms that enable contaminants to be degraded is


insufficient.
2. Native populations do not have the catabolic pathways necessary to metabolize
pollutants.

Principle

The rationale of this approach is to enhance the degree or rate of degradation of the complex
pollutants by the addition of pollutant-degrading microorganisms. Enhancing the microbiota
of a contaminated site will not only enhance the elimination of the pollutants from the
particular site but also at the same time increases the genetic capacity of the desired site.
Therefore, bioaugmentation corresponds to an increase in the gene pool and, thus, the genetic
diversity of the site.

The selection of the appropriate strains for bioaugmentation should take into consideration
the following features of microorganisms: a high potential for contaminant degradation, fast
growth, ease of cultivation, the ability to withstand high concentrations of pollutants and to
survive in a wide range of environmental conditions.

However, despite decades of bioremediation research, the real drivers governing the
degradation of organic contaminants are still poorly understood.

Types

Bioaugmentation can be divided into two different approaches:

1. Cell bioaugmentation
2. Genetic bioaugmentation

1. Cell bioaugmentation:
It is the addition of adequate numbers of effective contaminant degrading microbial
strain(s) to remove contaminants. The cell bioaugmentation technique has been
applied to remove several contaminants, such as 3-chloroaniline, 2,4-
dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and 3-chlorobenzoate, in wastewater and contaminated
sites. It relies on the survival and growth of the inoculated strains to perform the
degradation of the target contaminants.

2. Genetic bioaugmentation:
Genetic bioaugmentation is an in situ bioremediation method that stimulates
horizontal transfer of catabolic plasmids between exogenous donor cells and
indigenous bacteria to increase the biodegradation potential of contaminants. It aims
to transfer relevant genes into indigenous microorganisms that have greater fitness for
survival in the contaminated environments as opposed to conventional
bioaugmentation which relies on the survival of exogenous microorganisms.

Advantages

Its main advantages is that treatment can be tailored to a specific pollutant that is dominant in
the environment. Thus, this approach is attractive for addressing both the increasing number
of emerging pollutants as well as pollutants that are present at high concentrations.

1. Chlorinated and Fluorinated Compounds Removal:


Using a fluidized bed biofilm reactor (FBBR) and expanded granular sludge bed
(EGSB), an increase in the biodegradation of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol following
bioaugmentation with Desulfitobacterium sp. has been reported.

2. Lignin Removal:
Selection and addition of lignin-biodegrading microorganisms into wastewater
provides an attractive strategy to remove specific pollutants originated from black
liquor.
3. Synthetic dyes;
The synthesis of anthraquinone-dyes requires bromoamine acid (BAA), as the major
synthetic intermediate. BAA-biodegrading Sphingomonas sp. is bioaugmented in a
laboratory combined process of microelectrolysis and biological aerated filtration of
contaminated wastewater.

4. Nicotine:
The tobacco industry is associated with the release of a substantial amount of
wastewater containing various toxic substances, one of which is nicotine, a possible
carcinogen. Bioaugmentation has been evaluated as a strategy to remove these
pollutants.

5. Bioaugmentation also appeared to be an effective method for removing the herbicide


simazine from contaminated soil.

Limitations

Parameters such as initial inoculum density, protozoan grazing and bacteriophage infections
have been singled out as the main parameters associated with low bacterial density in the
bioaugmented environment.

One of the main problems associated with bioaugmentation has been the difficulty in
maintaining sufficient numbers of biodegrading microorganisms (at least as high as 10 6–
107 cells/mL) in the environment during the bioaugmentation process.

The disappearance of the bacterial strains is associated with an increase in the population of
phages in the environment.

References

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