BEE360S: BIOPROCESSING & ENVIRONMENTAL

ENGINEERING
2024

BIOPROCESS FOR SUSTAINABLE REMEDIATION

Lecturer: Sipiwe Shoko([email protected])

 INTRODUCTION
Human activities generate many by-products which are generally seen as useless and
discarded as wastes. These massive amounts of wastes subsequently find their ways into
the ground, air and water every year
 INTRODUCTION
Increasing population growth accompanied by rapid urbanization and
industrialization has resulted in dramatic increases in the volume of waste
generated by modern societies. Increase in economic activities and food
consumption by humans and changing lifestyles generate a massive
volume of domestic waste which creates a critical problem in the
developed and developing countries of the world
How human activities impact the Earth's ecosystems

• Many of the changes that occur

in ecosystems can be described
as anthropogenic or occurring
as a result of human activity.

• The following list describes five of

the most significant
anthropogenic effects on
ecosystems today.

http://ian.umces.edu/blog/2013/02/12/managing-for-sustainable-ecosystems-our-human-role/
 How human activities impact the Earth's ecosystems
1. Habitat loss: through land-use changes, such as deforestation and mining, that directly damage natural
landscapes.
2. Pollution: occurs when harmful substances are released into the environment e.g. disruptive light or noise
from human activities. Nitrogen in fertilizer runoff can induce the rapid overgrowth of algae in oceans.
Algal blooms deplete dissolved oxygen in water, resulting in dead zones, or nutrient-depleted regions that
can't support plant or animal life.
3. Invasive species: these are species that have become established in a new environment, typically as a
result of human travel or trade. These non-native species can prey on native species, or outcompete
native species for resources. Invasive species often lack natural predators in their new environment, so their
populations tend to grow quite large, disrupting the balance of the existing ecosystem.
4. Overexploitation of natural resources: directly correlates with the need to provide food and housing to an
ever-growing human population. Overfishing, for example, removes fish from the oceans faster than they
can be replaced through reproduction, stressing the balance of the ecosystem. Burning fossil fuels and
cutting old-growth forests are other examples of overexploitation, as these resources can’t be replaced
once they are gone.
5. Climate change: describes a long-term shift in global weather patterns. While climate change is a global
phenomenon, it has significant effects at the regional level. For example, the climate in some temperate
regions has shifted and is now characterized by hotter summers and less annual rainfall. Climate change is
occurring relatively quickly (in terms of geologic time), putting species that can’t adapt to changing
conditions at risk of extinction. The changes in global climate we are seeing today can be attributed
primarily to human activities (such as burning fossil fuels) that lead to global warming.

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/hs-biology/x4c673362230887ef:interactions-in-ecosystems/x4c673362230887ef:human-impacts-on-ecosystems/a/human-impacts-on-ecosystems
 /
http://troutstreamresearch.safl.umn.edu
 Pollution vs waste
- Waste: substances which are the by-products of a process. Essentially,
any unwanted products made in the process of making a wanted,
intentional product.

- Pollution: substances that are deemed harmful to animals and/or the

environment. Pollution means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance
present in such concentration as may be, or tend to be, hazardous or
detrimental to the environment.
- Pollutants: the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances or
naturally occurring contaminants.
 Pollution vs waste
- For any processes in the universe, waste (by-products) will always be
created.
- For example, a by-product of hydrocarbon combustion is carbon dioxide which is
attributed to the greenhouse effect and global warming—clearly a negative
example of waste.
- Water is another by-product of combustion, that rarely has negative
consequences, but it is waste. As a different example, oxygen is a waste product
of photosynthesis, but humans and animals require it to breathe—clearly a positive
example of waste.
Types of Pollution
Environmental pollution is the release of harmful substances into water, air or soil.
SOIL POLLUTION
• Many wastes can lead to pollution
and degradation of soil, making it
impossible to grow crops and other
plants successfully.

• Examples of potential soil pollutants

include waste from dumping sites,
industry, vehicle workshops and
chemical fertilisers

by memuco. From Visually.

 AIR POLLUTION
• The ever-increasing use of fossil fuels in power
plants, industries, transportation, mining,
construction of buildings, and stone quarries
had led to air pollution. It may be defined as
the introduction of particulates and
chemicals into the atmosphere in such
concentration that may be directly and
indirectly injurious to human health or other
living organisms, or plants or interferes with
the normal environmental processes.

• Burning fossil fuels → pollutants such as

carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen
oxides, sulfur oxides, and particulate matter.

• When these pollutants are combined with

water, they make acid rain.
• Burning fossil fuels→ emits carbon dioxide, and
other gases →
• these gases trap the sunlight, causing the
greenhouse effect.
WATER POLLUTION
• Contamination of water bodies (e.g.
lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater).
• Any physical, chemical or biological
change in waterbodies that adversely
affects living organisms or makes water
unsuitable for desired uses can be
considered as water pollution.
• This form of environmental degradation
occurs when pollutants are directly or
indirectly discharged into water bodies
without adequate treatment to remove
harmful compounds.
• Water pollution is caused by a variety
of human activities such as industrial,
agricultural and domestic. It affects the
health and quality of soils and
vegetation (Carter 1985).
 Types of Wastes
Solid Waste
• All types of waste in solid form.
• Includes organic waste such as
paper and leftover food, and
inorganic waste such as plastic
bags, cans and condoms.
• Organic waste includes anything
that is derived from living
organisms; it decomposes by
natural processes.
• Inorganic waste does not
decompose so easily.
 Liquid Waste
• includes human excreta (both
faeces and urine), industrial
wastewaters, and other forms of
waste from water-using activities in
homes and institutions.
• Households produce liquid waste
from baths, showers and
handwashing, as well as from
washing dishes and clothes. This
liquid waste is called greywater.
• Faeces and urine are called
blackwater. Industries also release a
significant volume of liquid waste.
Sometimes the wastes include
chemicals that have been added
as part of the industrial process and
may be toxic
BIOPROCESS FOR SUSTAINABLE REMEDIATION
Green technologies for waste management and pollution
remediation
 INTRODUCTION
How do we maintain our ecosystem in light of the major depletion
of our natural resources?

Sustainability entails
• Pollution prevention by the minimization of waste production
• Life cycle analysis of our production techniques to include built-in
features for extraction and reuse of materials
• Material shelf life: Selection of materials and methods that have
a long life
• Energy minimization: Selection of manufacturing methods and
equipment that minimize energy and water consumption
 INTRODUCTION
Different waste treatment techniques tend to transform the waste into a form which is
not only more manageable, with reduced volume and toxicity thereby making the
waste easier to dispose of. Waste treatment methods are chosen depending upon the
form, composition and quantity of the waste material.

Waste Management Hierarchy

 Waste Management Hierarchy
Resource recovery Recycle Reuse Reduce
Using wastes as starting Conversion of waste Using an item, whether for Minimising the
materials for valuable materials into new its original purpose or to amount of waste
products. As a result, materials and objects. fulfil a different function. It generated. By
waste generated is The recyclability of a is different from recycle, reducing or
reduced, thereby material depends on its which is the breaking eliminating the
reducing the need for ability to reacquire the down of used items to generation of
landfill space, and properties it had in its make raw materials for the harmful and
creating values from virgin or original state. manufacture of new persistent wastes.
waste. Resource Recycling can inhibit products. Reuse – by This includes
recovery prevents/ the waste generation taking, but not involves
defers the utilisation of from potentially useful reprocessing, previously redesigning
raw materials in the materials and reduce used items – helps save products and
manufacturing the consumption of time, money, energy and processes and/or
process. Plastic, paper, fresh raw materials, resources. Reuse is all changing societal
aluminium, glass and thereby reducing: about giving items a patterns of
metal are examples of energy usage, air second life before they consumption and
where value can be pollution, and water become waste. For production.
found in waste. pollution. example using the back
of old print outs as note
paper
LANDFILL
A landfill is a region of land onto or into which waste is
deposited. The aim is to prevent contact between the
waste and the surrounding environment, especially the
groundwater.
-Open dumps or unsanitary landfill, low lying area or natural
area where no measure is taken for collection of leachates
as well as gas emissions.
-Semi-controlled or monitored landfills, wastes are
compacted and waste dumps are covered by topsoil layer
so as to reduce nuisance. Generally, all kind of wastes are
dumped without segregation such as municipal, medical
and industrial etc. Collection systems for leachates and gas
emissions are also not present.
-Sanitary landfills, landfills are provided with all facilities such
as collection system for leachate and gas emissions. There
is also provision for leachate treatment and use of this
treated leachate. Such landfills also have controlled the
gas emissions that may be generated from waste
incineration and biological treatment of waste
OPEN BURNING
It is the burning of unwanted waste materials that
release smoke and other emissions directly into the
air, not passing through any stack or chimney.
Burning the open
outdoor piles, wastes in a burn barrel or the use of
incinerators without pollution control devices
releases the gaseous by-products as such, directly
into the atmosphere. Garbage burning is an easy,
convenient and cost-effective method but imposes
several negative effects on both human health and
the environment. Uncontrolled garbage burning
may release toxic pollutants into the atmosphere
such as ash, carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic
compounds (PACs), particulate matter, dioxins,
hexachlorobenzene and other volatile organic
compounds which are hazardous to human health
INCINERATION
It is the thermal treatment process which
involves combustion of waste in the
presence of oxygen. Subsequent to
incineration, the wastes get converted to
CO 2 , water vapour and ash (Saffarzadeh
et al. 2015 ). This method may help in
energy recovery which can be used in
heating and/or electricity supply. In
addition, incineration technologies help in
reducing the waste volume, rendering it
less harmful besides reducing cost of
transportation as well as the production of
methane, a major greenhouse gas.
BIOREMEDIATION
Bioremediation is a natural process that
decomposes or detoxifies or removes pollutants by
the action of biological catalysts, that occurs at
different levels of the ecosystem. Bioremediation
encompasses water, soil, and air environments. The
benefits of bioremediation also extend from the
environment to health, life, and the world economy.
Since bioremediation proceeds with biological
components, limited energy input and mild
operating conditions are sufficient for the
mineralization or detoxification of pollutants.

Microbes that are naturally present in soils and water

environments are potential candidates for the
biological transformation of xenobiotic compounds
that are introduced into the ecosystem.
1. Biostimulation
Promotion of microbial growth in situ can be
achieved by the addition of nutrients. It is highly
efficient, cost effective and eco-friendly in
nature. When the indigenous microbial
population has been exposed to specific
polluting compounds for prolonged periods,
subpopulations will have developed a limited
metabolic ability to utilise and, thus, degrade
the offending pollutant. However, growth of
these particular microbes will invariably be
nutrient-limited. Biostimulation refers to the
addition of rate limiting nutrients like
phosphorus, nitrogen, oxygen, electron donors
to severely polluted sites to stimulate the
existing microbes to degrade the hazardous
and toxic contaminants.
 The application of bioremediation to environmental clean-up can be applied in two ways.

2. Bioaugmentation
This approach is used to enhance
the degree or rate of degradation
of the complex pollutants by the
addition of pollutant-degrading
microorganisms. Microbial samples
from the polluted site, enrich the
useful microbes, scale-up from the
mixture by bioreactor cultivation,
and re-inoculate large quantities of
the ‘cocktail’ of microbes into the
contaminated site
Additional Readings
• Impact of Amazon deforestation on global warming
• Impact of global lockdown in 2019-2021 on global climate,
pollution etc.
• Micropollutants which are usually recalcitrant to treatment
• Bioaccumulation and biomagnification
• Carbon capturing and carbon sequestration
• Eutrophication
• Biomimicry
• Phytoremediation
• Phycoremediation
• Mycoremediation
References
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333449012_Rol
e_of_Waste_Management_at_Landfills_in_Sustainable_Wa
ste_Management [accessed Nov 24 2020].
• Madhurankhi Goswami, Poulomi Chakraborty, Koushik
Mukherjee, Garbita Mitra, Purnita Bhattacharyya, Samrat
Dey, Prosun Tribedi. Bioaugmentation and biostimulation:
a potential strategy for environmental remediation.