ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am over whelmed in all humbleness and

gratefulness to acknowledge our depth to all those
who have helped me to put these ideas, well above
the level of simplicity and into something
concrete.

I am very thankful to my guide and our biology

teachers. With the help of their valuable
suggestions, guidance and encouragement, I was
able to perform this project work.
APARAJIT DAS for his valuable help. He was
alto show me the right track when we need his
help.

I would like to express my gratitude to my teacher,

principal, and parents for their guidance and
support during my science project. Without their
help, I would not have been able to complete this
project successfully.
 CONTENTS
 Introduction
 Microbes in Household products
 Microbes in Industrial products
 Microbes in Sewage Treatment
 Microbes in Energy production
 Microbes as Biocontrol agents
 Microbes as fertilizers
 Conclusion
 Bibliography
INTRODUCTION:
WHAT ARE MICROBES?

Microbes are tiny living things that are found all around us.
They may or may not be visible to the naked eye.
Microorganisms are very diverse; they include bacteria, fungi,
algae, and protozoa; microscopic plants (green algae); and
animals such as rotifers and planarians.
Microorganisms live in all parts of the biosphere even where
no other life form can exist, such as in deep water, including
soil, hot springs, on the ocean floor, high in the atmosphere
and deep inside rocks within the Earth's crust.

The branch of biology which deals with the study of

microorganism are called as “Microbiology”. The biosphere
i.e. the biotic and abiotic component has a variety of
microorganisms that exhibit beneficial activities.

MICROBES IN HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS:

Microbes in food preparation:

I am thankful to my parents as well who gave

me valuable suggestions which helped me to
successfully complete this project
I am thankful to my parents as well who gave
me valuable suggestions which helped me to
successfully complete this project
I am thankful to my parents as well who gave
me valuable suggestions which helped me to
successfully complete this project

Curd:
Microorganisms such
as Lactobacillus and
others commonly
Curd: Microorganisms such as Lactic Acid Bacteria
(LAB) grow in milk and convert it into curd.
During growth, the Lactic acid bacteria produce acids
that coagulate and partially digest the milk proteins. The
LAB play very beneficial role in checking disease-causing
microbes which also improves its nutritional quality by
increasing vitamin B12

Idli and Dosa: The

dough which is used
for making dosa and
idli is
he dough which is
used for making dosa
and idli is
Idli and Dosa: The dough, which is used for making foods
such as dosa and idli is also fermented by bacteria. The
puffed-up appearance of dough is due to the production of
CO2 gas.
Cheese: The large holes in ‘Swiss cheese’ are due to the
production of a large amount of CO2CO2 by a

bacterium named Propionibacterium sharmani. In

contrast, the ‘Roquefort cheese’ are ripened by
growing a specific fungus on them, which gives
them a specific flavour.
Microbes as the source of food:
Some microbes or their fruiting bodies are directly used as a
source of food, rich in protein. The term ‘SCP’ or single cell
protein denotes dead and dried cells of microbes like bacteria,
algae, molds and yeasts. They are obtained by growing
microbes of various groups on different substrates. These
microbes include bacteria like. Bacillus subtilis, fungi like,
species of Candida and Saccharomyces cerevisiae and algae
such as species of Chlorella.
Mushrooms and truffles are directly used as food. They
belong to basidiomycetes (fungi) and produce large fleshy
fruiting bodies which are edible. They are low calorie, sugar-
free, fat-free but rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and
amino acids.
MICROBES IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS:
Fermented beverages:
I am thankful to my parents as well who gave
me valuable suggestions which helped me to
successfully complete this project
I am thankful to my parents as well who gave
me valuable suggestions which helped me to
successfully complete this project
I am thankful to my parents as well who gave
me valuable suggestions which helped me to
successfully complete this project MICROBES IN
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCFermented beverages :
The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae used for bread-
making and commonly called brewer’s yeast, is used
for fermenting malted cereals and fruit juices, to
produce ethanol.
Wine and beer are produced without distillation
whereas whisky, brandy and rum are produced by
distillation of the fermented broth.
Antibiotics:

Antibiotics are chemical substances, which are

produced by some microbes and can kill or retard the
growth of other (disease-causing) microbes. Penicillin
was the first antibiotic to be discovered by Alexander
Fleming by chance.
BIOACTIVE MOLECULES:
Organic Acid Fermentation:
A number of organic acids are obtained by fermentation using
various microbes as given below.

Enzyme Production:
Enzymes are biocatalysts, which either initiate or accelerate
all biochemical processes in living organisms. A number of
hydrolytic enzymes that degrade starch, proteins, fats and
pectin into simple compounds are known. Following are a
few examples of enzymes used in industrial food processing.
Name of the enzyme: Microbial source
i. Lipase Rhizopus spp
ii. Pectinase & Protease Aspergillus niger
iii. Streptokinase Streptococcus
bacterium
iv. Invertase Saccharomyces cerevisiae
MICROBES IN SEWAGE TREATMENT:
Primary Treatment:
Primary treatment is responsible for removing physical
particles, which can be large or small, by the process of
filtration and sedimentation. In the initial step filtration,
floating debris is removed, and in the second step,
sedimentation grit (soil or small pebbles). The remaining
components of solids that settle down are known as primary
sludge, and the supernatant forms the primary effluent. Some
proportions of primary effluent are required for secondary
treatment; therefore, it is removed.
Secondary Treatment:
It involves the active participation of living microbes;
therefore, it is called a biological process. The primary
effluent is poured into large Aeration tanks for constant
mechanical agitation, and oxygenic air is passed. This helps
the growth of aerobic microbes in water into Flocs. The
aerobic growth of microbes reduces the Biochemical oxygen
demand of water. After reduction of BOD, they are passed
into the settling tank where Flocs are required to sediment and
are called activated sludge. A small quantity of activated
sludge called Inoculum is pumped back into the aeration tank,
and the remaining part is transferred into the anaerobic sludge
digesters. In the anaerobic sludge digesters, anaerobic
bacteria digest the aerobic bacteria and fungi from the sludge,
producing biogas.
Tertiary Treatment:
Wastewater leaving the Secondary Clarifiers looks as clean as
drinking water! Depending on conditions, this water can go
directly to the Disinfection process to produce recycled water,
or it can go the Filtration Building.
This third and last step in the basic wastewater management
system is mostly comprised of removing phosphates and
nitrates from the water supply. Substances like activates
carbon and sand are among the most commonly used
materials that assist in this process.
The aim of tertiary wastewater treatment is to raise the quality
of the water to domestic and industrial standards, or to meet
specific requirements around the safe discharge of water. In
the case of water treated by municipalities, tertiary treatment
also involves the removal of pathogens, which ensures that
water is safe for drinking purposes.
MICROBES IN ENERGY PRODUCTION:
Biogas:
Microbes help in the production of biogas and are called
methanogens. Methanogens such as Methanobacterium are
found in the rumen of the cattle. These bacteria produce
large amounts of methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen
when they grow under anaerobic conditions thus producing
biogas.
The biogas plant consists of a source to supply the feedstock,
a digestion tank for biogas production, a biogas recovery unit
to isolate the produced biogas, and a heat exchanger to
maintain the temperature of the digester. Biogas generally
contains methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. It also
contains a small amount of water vapors and Hydrogen
Sulphide gas. The presence of methane in biogas is the
reason it is used as fuel because biogas becomes
inflammable due to presence of methane and can be used as
renewable energy resource.

Algae fuel:
Algal biofuel is an alternative to fossil fuel, which isgenerated
by specific algae species from carbon dioxide. These algae
species are primarily unicellular or diatom microalgae that
produce high carbohydrate compositions suitable for ethanol
production, high lipid compositions suitable for biodiesel
production or high hydrocarbon compositions that are suitable
for producing renewable distillates. Algae can also be used to
produce green diesel, also known as renewable diesel through
a hydrocracking refinery process that breaks down molecules
into shorter hydrocarbon chains used in diesel engines.
Cellulosic ethanol:
Cellulosic ethanol, second-generation biofuel that is
manufactured by converting vegetation unsuitable for
human consumption into ethyl alcohol (ethanol). Whereas
first-generation biofuels use edible feedstock such
as corn (maize), cellulosic ethanol can be produced by using
raw materials such as wood, grass, or nonedible plant parts.
All biofuels are renewable, but cellulosic ethanol has a lesser
impact on the food chain than first-generation biofuels
because it can be produced from agricultural waste products
or from energy crops grown on lands that are only marginally
useful for food production. Corn stover, switchgrass,
miscanthus and woodchip are some of the more popular
cellulosic materials for ethanol production. Cellulosic ethanol
is chemically identical to ethanol from other sources, such
as corn starch or sugar, but has the advantage that the
lignocellulose raw material is highly abundant and diverse.
MICROBES AS BIOCONTROL AGENTS:
In modern, agriculture microbes are used for controlling
pests. These microbes are either pathogens or predators or
parasites on the pests. Natural predation is useful and
harmless. Contrary to the conventional use of chemicals
which kill both useful and harmful organisms
indiscriminately, modern organic farmer tries to understand
the food chains and the web of interactions between the
organisms that constitute the flora and fauna of field and
uses suitable bio pesticide. He knows their life-cycles,
pattern of feeding and the habitats that they prefer. Organic
farmer knows that the biodiversity is important, more the
variety a landscape has, the more sustainable it is. This
helps him develop and use appropriate biocontrol methods.

Bacillus thuringiensis which is often referred to as Bt is a

microbial biocontrol agent. Spraying the solution of Bt
made of spores on plants will kill the butterfly caterpillars.
The spores that are ingested release toxins in the guts of the
larvae and kill them.
Biotechnology has developed disease-resistant and pest-
resistant plants by injecting the toxic genes of B.
thuringiensis into plants. For e.g. Bt cotton. Fungus-like
Trichoderma and baculoviruses of genus
Nucleopolyhedrovirus are some other microbial
biocontrol agents. These agents are specific in nature; this
along with the cost limits their use.
Ladybird and dragonflies are two common insects which
are employed to eradicate aphids and mosquitoes
 respectively.

MICROBES AS BIOFERTILIZERS:
MICROBES AS BIOFERTILIZERS:
For the ever increasing demand of agricultural chemical
products and fertilizers are traditionally used on large scale
obtain more yield. We are now aware of the problems
associated with the overuse of the chemical fertilizers,
significant one is they cause pollution.
Therefore for better and sustainable agricultural production,
the use of renewable nutritional sources, bio fertilizers is
necessary. It is essential to switch over to organic farming.
The bio fertilizers are mostly nitrogen-fixing microbes which
enrich soil with nutrients. They may be free living or
symbiotic, bacteria or cyanobacteria.
 Rhizobium: They form root nodules in leguminous
plants and fix the atmospheric nitrogen into an organic
 form. Rhizobium also has no negative effect on soil
quality and improves the quality, nutrient content, and
growth of the plant.

Root system of Leguminous plant T. S. of root with nodule

 Azotobacter: These are free-living nitrogen fixers found

in all types of upland crops. These not only fix nitrogen
but also provide certain antibiotics and growth
substances to the plant.
 Azospirillum: Unlike Azotobacter, these can be used in
wetland areas. They are found inside the roots of the
plant (non-free-living) where they fix the atmospheric
nitrogen.
Blue-green algae: These are free-living nitrogen-fixing
Cyanobacteria that are present only in wet and marshy
land.

 Mycorrhiza: . Mycorrhiza is a fungus. It forms

symbiotic association with the roots of higher plants.
There are two types; Ectomycorrhiza, Endomycorrhiza,
 Ectomycorrhizae have well developed mycelium which
forms mantle on the outside of the roots. This increases
surface area of roots and accelerates water and nutrient
uptake. Due to this the plant vigor, growth and yield
increase.
 Endomycorrhizae grow in between and within the
cortical cells of roots. Fungal hyphae penetrate the cells
and form vesicles or finely branched arbuscles. Hence,
they are called Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae or
VAM. The plants with VAM grow luxurientiy in less
irrigated lands.
CONCLUSION:
Microbes are an essential part of life on Earth. Not all bacteria
are harmful. Several bacteria are extremely beneficial to
humans. We virtually always use microorganisms and
microbial generated goods. From making curd and alcohol to
cleaning up the environment, the role of microbes in human
welfare is very important.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 https://www.clearias.com/microbes-in-
human-welfare/
 https://www.open.edu/openlearn/nature-
environment
 https://www.researchgate.net/
 https://msvgo.com/