Applied Environmental Biotechnology: Present Scenario and Future Trends

Applied Environmental

Biotechnology: Present Scenario

and Future Trends

Garima Kaushik

Editor

Applied Environmental

Biotechnology: Present

Scenario and Future

Trends

ISBN 978-81-322-2122-7 ISBN 978-81-322-2123-4 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2123-4

Springer New Delhi Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014958089

© Springer India 2015

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Editor

Garima Kaushik

Department of Environmental Science

School of Earth science

Central University of Rajasthan

Kishangarh, Ajmer, Rajasthan

India

v

Preface

Applied environmental biotechnology is the field of environmental science

and biology that involves the use of living organisms and their by-products in

solving environmental problems like waste and wastewaters. It includes not

only the pure biological sciences such as genetics, microbiology, biochemis￾try, and chemistry but also subjects from outside the sphere of biology, such

as chemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, information technology,

and biophysics.

Cleaning up the contamination and dealing rationally with wastes is, of

course, in everybody’s best interests. Considering the number of problems

in the field of environmental biotechnology and microbiology, the role of

bioprocesses and biosystems for environmental cleanup and control based

on the utilization of microbes and their products is highlighted in this work.

Environmental remediation, pollution control, detection, and monitoring

are evaluated considering the achievement as well as the perspectives in the

development of environmental biotechnology. Various relevant articles are

chosen up to illustrate the main areas of environmental biotechnology: indus￾trial waste water treatment, soil treatment, oil remediation, phytoremedia￾tion, microbial electroremediation, and development of biofuels dealing with

microbial and process engineering aspects. The distinct role of environmen￾tal biotechnology in future is emphasized considering the opportunities to

contribute new approaches and directions in remediation of a contaminated

environment, minimizing waste releases, and developing pollution preven￾tion alternatives using the end-of-pipe technology. To take advantage of these

opportunities, new strategies are also analyzed and produced. These methods

would improve the understanding of existing biological processes in order to

increase their efficiency, productivity, flexibility, and repeatability.

The responsible use of biotechnology to get economic, social, and environ￾mental benefits is highly attractive since the past, such as fermentation prod￾ucts (beer, bread) to modern technologies like genetic engineering, rDNA

technology, and recombinant enzymes. All these techniques are facilitating

new trends of environment monitoring. The twenty-first century has found

microbiology and biotechnology as an emerging area in sustainable environ￾mental protection. The requirement of alternative chemicals, feedstocks for

fuel, and a variety of commercial products has grown dramatically in the past

few decades. To reduce the dependence on foreign exchange, much research

AQ1

vi Preface

has been focussed on environmental biotechnology to develop a sustainable

society with our own ways of recovery and reusing the available resources.

An enormous amount of natural and xenobiotic compounds are added

to the environment every day. By exploring and employing the untapped

potential of microbes and their products, there are possibilities of not only

removing toxic compounds from the environment but also the conversion

and production of useful end products. Basic methodologies and processes

are highlighted in this book which will help in satisfying the expectations of

different level of users/readers.

This work focuses on the alarming human and environmental problems

created by the modern world, and thus provides some suitable solutions to

combat them by applying different forms of environmental studies. With the

application of environmental biotechnology, it enhances and optimizes the

conditions of existing biological systems to make their course of action much

faster and efficient in order to bring about the desired outcome. Various stud￾ies (genetics, microbiology, biochemistry, chemistry) are clubbed together

to find solutions to environmental problems in all phases of the environment

like, air, water, and soil. The 3R philosophy of waste reduction, reuse, and

recycling is a universally accepted solution for waste management. As these

are end-of-pipe treatments, the best approach is developing the approach of

waste prevention through cleaner production. However, even after creation

of waste the best solution to deal with is through biological means, and today

by applying various interdisciplines we can create various by-products from

this waste and utilize them best. Treatment of the various engineering sys￾tems presented in this book will show how an engineering formulation of

the subject flows naturally from the fundamental principles and theories of

chemistry, microbiology, physics, and mathematics and develop a sustainable

solution.

The book introduces various environmental applications, such as bioreme￾diation, phytoremediation, microbial diversity in conservation and explora￾tion, in-silico approach to study the regulatory mechanisms and pathways

of industrially important microorganisms, biological phosphorous removal,

ameliorative approaches for management of chromium phytotoxicity, sus￾tainable production of biofuels from microalgae using a biorefinary approach,

bioelectrochemical systems (BES) for microbial electroremediation, and oil

spill remediation.

This book has been designed to serve as a comprehensive environmen￾tal biotechnology textbook as well as a wide-ranging reference book. The

authors thank all those who have contributed significantly in understanding

the different aspects of the book and submitted their reviews, and at the same

time hope that it will prove of equally high value to advanced undergraduate

and graduate students, research scholars, and designers of water, wastewater,

and other waste treatment systems. Thanks are also due to Springer for pub￾lishing the book.

Kishangarh, Rajasthan, India Garima Kaushik

vii

Acknowledgments

Foremost, I must acknowledge the invaluable guidance I have received from

all my teachers in my academic life. I also thank all my coauthors for their

support, without which this book would have been impossible.

I thank my family for having the patience and taking yet another chal￾lenge which decreased the amount of time I spent with them. Especially, my

daughter Ananya, who took a big part in that sacrifice, and also my husband

Dr. Manish, who encouraged me in his particular way and assisted me in

completing this project.

Speaking of encouragement, I must mention about my head of department

and dean of Earth Sciences School, Central University of Rajasthan, Prof.

K. C. Sharma, whose continuous encouragement and trust helped me in a

number of ways in achieving endeavors like this.

I also thank my colleagues, Dr. Devesh, Dr. Sharmila, Dr. Ritu, and Dr.

Dharampal for their support and invaluable assistance.

No one is a bigger source of inspiration in life than our parents. I have

come across success and failures in my academic life but my parents have

been a continuous source of encouragement during all ups and downs in my

life. I really appreciate my in-laws for always supporting me throughout my

career.

It will be unworthy on my part if I do not mention Prof. I. S. Thakur, my

Ph.D. supervisor who gave me an opportunity to work, learn, and explore the

subject knowledge under his guidance and leadership.

Thank you all for your insights, guidance, and support!

Garima Kaushik

ix

Contents

1 Bioremediation Technology: A Greener and Sustainable

Approach for Restoration of Environmental Pollution ................ 1

Shaili Srivastava

2 Bioremediation of Industrial Effluents: Distillery Effluent ......... 19

Garima Kaushik

3 In Silico Approach to Study the Regulatory Mechanisms

and Pathways of Microorganisms .................................................. 33

Arun Vairagi

4 Microbial Diversity: Its Exploration and Need of Conservation . 43

Monika Mishra

5 Phytoremediation: A Biotechnological Intervention ..................... 59

Dharmendra Singh, Pritesh Vyas, Shweta Sahni

and Punesh Sangwan

6 Ameliorative Approaches for Management of Chro￾mium Phytotoxicity: Current Promises and Future Directions ... 77

Punesh Sangwan, Prabhjot Kaur Gill, Dharmendra Singh

and Vinod Kumar

7 Management of Environmental Phosphorus Pollution

Using Phytases: Current Challenges and Future Prospects ........ 97

Vinod Kumar, Dharmendra Singh, Punesh Sangwan

and Prabhjot Kaur Gill

8 Sustainable Production of Biofuels from Microalgae

Using a Biorefinary Approach ......................................................... 115

Bhaskar Singh, Abhishek Guldhe, Poonam Singh,

Anupama Singh, Ismail Rawat and Faizal Bux

9 Oil Spill Cleanup: Role of Environmental Biotechnology ............ 129

Sangeeta Chatterjee

10 Bioelectrochemical Systems (BES) for Microbial

Electroremediation: An Advanced Wastewater

Treatment Technology ..................................................................... 145

Gunda Mohanakrishna, Sandipam Srikanth and Deepak Pant

x Contents

xi

Contributors

Faizal Bux Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban Univer￾sity of Technology, Durban, South Africa

Sangeeta Chatterjee Centre for Converging Technologies, University of

Rajasthan, Jaipur, India

Prabhjot Kaur Gill Akal School of Biotechnology, Eternal University, Sir￾mour, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abhishek Guldhe Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban

University of Technology, Durban, South Africa

Garima Kaushik Department of Environmental Science, School of Earth

Sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Ajmer, India

Vinod Kumar Akal School of Biotechnology, Eternal University, Sirmour,

Himachal Pradesh, India

Monika Mishra Institute of Management Studies, Ghaziabad, UP, India

Gunda Mohanakrishna Separation & Conversion Technologies, VITO—

Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Mol, Belgium

Deepak Pant Separation & Conversion Technologies, VITO—Flemish

Institute for Technological Research, Mol, Belgium

Ismail Rawat Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban

University of Technology, Durban, South Africa

Shweta Sahni Division of Life Sciences, S. G. R. R. I. T. S., Dehradun,

Uttarakhand, India

Punesh Sangwan Department of Biochemistry, C. C. S. Haryana Agricul￾tural University, Hisar, Haryana, India

Anupama Singh Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities, National

Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology, Ranchi, India

Bhaskar Singh Centre for Environmental Sciences, Central University of

Jharkhand, Ranchi, India

Dharmendra Singh Akal School of Biotechnology, Eternal University,

Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, India

Poonam Singh Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban

University of Technology, Durban, South Africa

Sandipam Srikanth Separation & Conversion Technologies, VITO—

Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Mol, Belgium

Shaili Srivastava Amity School of Earth and Environmental Science, Amity

University, Gurgaon, Haryana, India

Arun Vairagi Institute of Management Studies, Ghaziabad, UP, India

Pritesh Vyas Department of Biotechnology and Allied Sciences, Jyoti

Vidyapeeth Women University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

xii Contributors

xiii

About the Editor

Dr. Garima Kaushik is currently working as Assistant Professor in Depart￾ment of Environmental Science, School of Earth Science, Central Univer￾sity of Rajasthan. A gold medallist in B. Sc. and M.Sc. from University of

Rajasthan, she obtained Ph.D. in the field of Environmental Biotechnology,

from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has also served as an

Environmental Consultant to World Bank funded projects with government

of Rajasthan, namely; Health Care Waste Management (HCWM) and Raj￾asthan Rural Livelihood Project (RRLP). Her areas of research interest are

environmental microbiology, chiefly bioremediation of industrial effluents,

biomedical waste management, enzyme kinetics, applications and biopro￾cess engineering. Another area of her research includes climate change and

rural livelihoods and promotion of environmentally friendly activities in

rural areas for adaptation to climate change. She is also pursuing her future

research in the area on education for sustainable development.

Dr. Kaushik has published several research papers in the field of bioreme￾diation, climate change adaptation in international and national journals and

has contributed in organizing various conferences and seminars. She has also

participated in various academic events at national and international level

and is also the life member of many academic societies.

xv

Abbreviations

µM Micromolar

AAS Atomic absorption spectrophotometer

ABTS 2,2ʹ-azinodi-3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfuric acid

ANOVA Analysis of variance

APHA American Public Health Association

ARDRA Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis

ATP Adenosine triphosphate

BHC Benzene hexachloride

BLAST Basic local alignment search tool

BOD Biological oxygen demand

CBD Convention on Biological Diversity

CLPP Community level physiological profiling

COD Chemical oxygen demand

CPCB Central Pollution Control Board

CU Color unit

DAPI Diamidino-2-phenylindole

DDT Dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane

DEAE cellulose Diethylaminoethyl cellulose

DGGE Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

EEA European Environment Agency

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

FISH Fluorescence in situ hybridization

FT-IR Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy

GC-MS Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

GMOs Genetically modified organisms

HRT Hydraulic retention time

IAS In situ air sparging

IC Ion chromatography

IR Infra-red band

LMWOA Low molecular weight organic acids

LNAPL Light nonaqueous phase liquid

MEGAN MEta Genome Analyzer

MOCB Miniature oil containment boom

NADH Nucleotide adenosine dihydride

NCBI National Center for Biotechnology Information

xvi Abbreviations

PAH Poly aromatic hydrocarbon

PCB Polychlorinated biphenyl

PCDD Polychlorinated dibenzodioxin

PCDF Polychlorinated dibenzofuran

PCP Pentachlorophenol

PGDB Pathways/Genome Databases

RF Radio frequency

RFLP Restriction fragment length polymorphism

SSCP Single strand conformation polymorphism

TCE Trichloroethylene

UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

UNESCO The United Nations Organization for Education, Science and

Culture

UVF Ultraviolet Fluorescence Spectrometry

WF Water footprint

WFCC World Federation for Culture Collection

WNO World Nature Organization

1

1 Bioremediation Technology:

A Greener and Sustainable

Approach for Restoration

of Environmental Pollution

Shaili Srivastava

G. Kaushik (ed.), Applied Environmental Biotechnology: Present Scenario and Future Trends,

DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2123-4_1, © Springer India 2015

S. Srivastava ()

Amity School of Earth and Environmental Science,

Amity University, Gurgaon, Haryana, India

e-mail: shailisrivastava05@gmail.com

Abstract

Bioremediation has the potential technique to restore the polluted environ￾ment including water and soil by the use of living plants and microorgan￾isms. The bioremediation technology is greener clean and safe technology

for the cleanup of contaminated site. This chapter will focus on the biological

treatment processes by microorganisms that currently play a major role in

preventing and reducing the extent of organic and inorganic environmental

contamination from the industrial, agricultural, and municipal waste. Biore￾mediation is concerned with the biological restoration of contaminated sites

and content of the chapter also reflects the current trends of bioremediation

technology and the limitations of bioremediation. Environmental genomics

technique is the useful for the advanced treatment of waste site as well as ge￾nome-enabled studies of microbial physiology and ecology which are being

applied to the field of bioremediation, and to anticipate additional applica￾tions of genomics that are likely in the near future.

1.1 Introduction

The organic and inorganic compounds are re￾leased during the production, storage, transport,

and use of organic and inorganic chemicals into

the environment every year as a result of various

developmental activities. In some cases these re￾leases are deliberate and well regulated (e.g., in￾dustrial emissions) while in other cases they are

accidental (e.g., chemical or oil spills). Detoxi￾fication of the contaminated sites is expensive

and time consuming by conventional chemical

or physical methods. Bioremediation is a com￾bination of two words, “bio,” means living and

“remediate” means to solve a problem or to bring

the sites and affairs into the original state, and

“bioremediate” means to use biological organ￾isms to solve an environmental problem such

as contaminated soil or ground water, through

the technological innovations. The technique of

bioremediation uses living microorganisms usu￾ally bacteria and fungi to remove pollutants from

soil and water. This approach is potentially more

Keywords

Bioremediation · Environment · Genomics · Microbes