ENVIRONMENTAL

BIOTECHNOLOGY (ELECTIVE II)

(Che/PE/B/T/424F)

Dr. Ranjana Das

ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

 Basics of microbiology related to Environmental Biotechnology,

 Biofilm Kinetics.
 Reactors for suspended growth ( Suspended Floc, Dispersed Growth or Slurry
Reactors).
 Reactors that make use of biofilm (Fixed Film Reactors, Attached Growth Reactors,
Immobilized Cell Reactors)
 Activated Sludge Process, Bulking and other Sludge Settling Problems,
 Lagoons, Aerobic Biofilm Processes, Trickling Filter and Biological Towers, Rotating
Biological Contactors, Granular Media Filters, Fluidized Bed Circulating Bed Biofilm
Reactors, Hybrid suspended growth/Biofilm processes, Nitrification. ANAMMOX
process, Denitrification, Anaerobic Treatment by methanogenesis, Detoxification of
hazardous chemicals, Bioremediation, Ex-situ and In situ applications.
 Degradation of polymers, Degradation of dyes, Tannery effluent, Semiconductor waste
treatment, treatment of pulp and paper industry effluent, Desulfurization and aromatic
removal of petroleum fractions. Bioremediation of water, soil and air.
Textbooks
1. Vallero, D.,(2015). Environmental Biotechnology, A Biosystems Approach (2nd
ed.).Academic Press.

2. Pradeep Verma.(2022), Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology.Madigan,

3. M.T., Bender, S., Buckley, D.H., Sattley, W.M., Stahl, D.A., Brock,
T.D.(February 25th, 2020- Copyright © 2021)), Brock Biology of
Microorganism (16h ed.), Pearson.
4. Anoop Singh, (December 2021). Environmental Microbiology and
Biotechnology.
 Environmental Biotechnology

• Environmental Biotechnology is defined as a branch of biotechnology that addresses

environmental problems, such as the genetic rescue of a species, the removal of
pollution, renewable energy generation or biomass production, all by using biological
processes for the protection and restoration of the quality of the environment.

• EB is application of biological process for commercial uses and exploitation.

• EB can be defined as the development, use and regulation of biological systems for
remediation of contaminated environment (land, Air, Water) and for environmentally
friendly process (Green manufacturing Technology and Sustainable process)
 Why Environmental Biotechnology ??

Current applications of biotechnology to environmental quality evaluation, monitoring,

remediation, and mitigation of contaminated environments. The scale of technology ranges
from the molecular to macrobiotic.
 Environmental biotechnology

Biotechnology Environment

Bio
Technology

How things are Application of

happening Science +Engineering science

• The technology comes through with the help of some biological component we call in
biotechnology

• An environmental biotechnology basically a practice biotechnology for environmental

protection
Chemical Process Bioprocess

Use of synthetic or chemical process Conversion of raw material to final product by biological
organisms
High temperature and pressure Ambient condition

Unsterile condition Sterile condition

Limited variety of products Unique products

Greater toxicity and increased risk factors Increased safety to environment and biodegradability

In-situ remediation employs two primary Bioremediation is the biological breakdown of complex
methods, which are the transportation of the chemicals (contaminants) into simpler constituents.
pollutants (contaminants) out of the ground or
the forced chemical degradation of the
contaminants.
It involves oxidation or reduction reactions Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms to
with inorganic or organic compounds breakdown environmental pollutants
 Biosensor EB
Biofuel

Bioaccumulation Bioremediation Biodegradation Bioleaching Biomethanation

Bioleaching is the extraction or

liberation of metals from their ores
through the use of living organisms.

Biomethanation is a process by which organic

material is microbiologically converted under
anaerobic conditions to biogas. Three main
physiological groups of microorganisms are
involved: fermenting bacteria, organic acid
oxidizing bacteria, and methanogenic archaea
• Bioaccumulation is a process of accumulation of chemicals in an organism that takes place if the rate of
intake exceeds the rate of excretion. Chemicals are introduced into the organism through exposure to the
abiotic environment (soil, water, air) or as dietary intake (trophic transfer).

When toxins gets absorbed at a higher rate than the body can get rid of it, the organism is at risk of chronic
poisoning
• Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi, depending
on the nature of the material, time ranges from days to centuries. The process of biodegradation can be
divided into three stages: Biodeterioration, Biofragmentation, and Assimilation.
Slow process
Cycle of Bioremediation
Bioremediation
Monitoring of Bioremediation Process
Bioremediation is a branch of biotechnology that employs the use of living organisms, like microbes and bacteria
to decontaminate affected areas. It is used in the removal of contaminants, pollutants, and toxins from soil, water,
and other environments.

Advantages of bioremediation:
•Natural process:
• Bioremediation being a natural process is accepted by the public as waste treatment method for contaminated material
such as soil.
• Microbes capable of degrading the contaminant, increase in numbers and produce harmless products.
• The residues for the treatment are normally harmless products such as carbon dioxide, water, and cell biomass.
•Complete destruction:
• Bioremediation is employed for the complete destruction of a wide variation of contaminants.
• Many hazardous compounds can be transformed to non-toxic products. This reduces the chance of future
responsibility related with treatment and disposal of contaminated material.
• Bioremediation can be performed on site treatment, without causing a major disturbance of normal activities. This
removes the requirement to transport huge quantities of waste off site and thus decreases potential hazards to human
health and the environment that can arise during transportation.
•Economic process:
• Bioremediation is cost effective in comparison to other methods that are used for removal of hazardous
waste.
Limitations of bioremediation:
•Limited up to biodegradable compounds:
• Bioremediation is limited to biodegradable compounds.
• This method is prone to rapid and complete degradation.
• Products of biodegradation may be more lasting or toxic than the parent compound.
•Specificity:
• Biological processes are largely specific.
• The presence of metabolically capable microbial populations, suitable environmental growth conditions, and adequate
levels of nutrients and contaminants are the important sites factors required for successful bioremediation.
•Scale up limitation:
• It is tough to scale up from bench and pilot scale studies to full scale field operations.
•Technological advancement :
• Research is required to develop and advance bioremediation technologies that are appropriate for sites with complex
mixtures of contaminants that are not evenly distributed in the environment i.e. it may be present as solids, liquids, and
gases.
•Tedious process:
• Bioremediation consumes much time compared to other treatment options, such as excavation and removal of soil from
contaminated site.
•Regulatory uncertainty:
• We are not sure to say that remediation is 100% completed, as there is no known definition of clean.
• Due to that performance evaluation of bioremediation is complex, and there is no fixed endpoint for bioremediation
treatments.
Ecosystem (1935)
The science of ecology is relationship between biota and surrounding environment. The ecosystem is broad
area comprising the whole biota in relation to abiotic environment
Biogeochemical cycles
The path taken by an element through nutrient metabolism by living system and their
subsequent release on death and decomposition (natural mineralisation)
Carbon Cycle
Plants use CO2 and light to make Glucose. That means,
plants take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store
it as fossil fuels in their tissues. In this process, plants die
and their bodies are then buried in the soil.
Fossil fuels, when burned, release carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. Animals eat plants, and this way carbon is
transferred to them.
The carbon cycle manages how many times those same
carbon atoms move around. They move from the
atmosphere into plants and animals, then back into the
atmosphere, and then back into the ground. That’s the
carbon cycle.
Most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, but some
are also stored in living organisms and the atmosphere.
Nitrogen Cycle

The process of converting nitrogen into several different

forms is called the nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen passes from
the atmosphere into the soil and then to different
organisms. The nitrogen cycle is also involved in the
matter-decaying processes.

Prokaryotes play an important role in the nitrogen cycle.

Inorganic nitrogen is fixed by the soil bacteria, which
makes the nitrogen available to the plant.

The nitrogen gas from the plants is converted into a

compound called ammonia by a group of bacteria present
in the root nodules of plants. Ammonia is converted into
Nitrites and Nitrates. Then Denitrifying bacteria reduce
these nitrates and nitrites into nitrogen and returned to the
atmosphere.
Phosphorus Cycle

The phosphorus cycle is the process by which phosphorus

moves from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere to the
biosphere. The main biological role of phosphorus is the
formation of nucleotides, which are the building blocks
of DNA and RNA. It is also present between the double
helix of DNA.

Plants and animals get this phosphorus from the soil and
water. Microorganisms decompose the dead bodies of
plants and animals and get phosphorus from that organic
matter. This phosphorus is then returned to the soil for
being consumed by plants and animals.

Without phosphorus, we could not have life. It’s a

fundamental building block in the genetic code of life on
Earth, the composition of cell membranes, and it supports
all other elements of the Earth’s food chain.
 Biofilm Examples

Biofilm in water pipe line Dental plaque Algae growth in Algae growth on titanic
aquarium

Food Processing industry Biofilm on surgical instrument

 Biofilm
formation

The natural tendency of

microbial cells to stick to
one another and to a solid
surface and form a
community connected by
an extracellular matter
Bacterial cell-to-cell communication to control gene
expression, is known as quorum sensing
Biofilm Composition Exo-polysaccharides
• EPS present in biofilms is thought to closely
resemble the corresponding polymers
synthesized by planktonic cells.
• Quantity of EPS depend on availability –
Carbon (intra and extra-cellular) – Carbon:
Limiting nutrient – Vary in proportions of
various components
• Some are neutral macromolecules, but
majority are polyanionic
– Uronic acids (D-glucuronic acid >D-
Galacturonic acid = D-mannuronic)
– Ketal -linked pyruvate

D-glucuronic D-Galacturonic acid

• Conditioning Material are proteinaceous and polysaccharides
Effects of Substratum Conditioning
The ability of an
organism to move
independently, using
metabolic energy is
motility
 Step 3: Adsorption
At the substrate the cells adsorb reversibly or
irreversibly