Transcript Bioremediation

Links:
Princeton Bioremediation
Bioremediation in Alaska
The plaque on your teeth are part of a biofilm
Biofilms:
A biofilm is composed of living, reproducing
microorganisms, such as bacteria, that exist as a
colony, or community.
What are Biofilms: microorganisms
living on surfaces
Natural
Industrial
Dental / medical
Biofilms Have Been Around for a
Long Time
 Microorganisms adhere to the surface of
some object in a moist environment and
begin to reproduce.
 The microorganisms form an attachment to
the surface of the object by secreting a slimy,
glue-like substance.
Biofilms can form on just about any imaginable
surface:
 metals
 plastics
 natural materials (such as rocks),
 medical implants
 kitchen counters
 contact lenses
 the walls of a hot tub or swimming pool
Wherever the combination of moisture,
nutrients, and a surface exists, biofilms will
likely be found as well.
Medical Problems with Biofilms
Every year thousands of infections are
associated with biofilms forming on artificial
joint replacements and other foreign objects
entering into the body.
Case Study Series 12 Gastric Bypass patients– Biofilms Associated with Sutures
and Mesh
Dissolvable sutures
Skin
Subcutaneous fat
Abdominal muscles
Mesh
Load bearing nondissolvable braided
suture
 Bioremediation:
 Any process that uses microorganisms or
their enzymes to return the environment
altered by contaminants to its original
condition.
Alaskan Oil Spill after the Exxon Valdez Crash in 1989
Works in difficult locations that cannot be reached by
other techniques.
 Gasoline leaking out of tanks into the ground
water
 Inject the bacteria into the site and provide an
oxygen producing compound.
 Cheaper and easier than excavation and
pumping/treatment of the contaminated water.
 Bacteria are already present in the soil or
aquifer, and bioremediation takes place
naturally.
 In some cases, the rate of bioremediation is
too slow to effectively clean up a plume of
contaminated water before it gets to a
spring, well, lake, or stream.
 The rate of bioremediation can be enhanced
by adding fertilizer to make the bacteria
grow more rapidly.
BIOREMEDIATION SUCCESS STORIES
 Oil spills
 The bacteria are treated with
fertilizers to increase the breakdown
of the oil contaminants.
 Chlorinated Pesticides
LINKS TO BIOREMEDIATION
The Monongahela River Spill: About a million gallons of oil accidentally spilled
into the Monongahela River in Western Pennsylvania when an above-ground oil
storage tank collapsed January 2, 1988. In a matter of seconds, a 30 foot wave of heavy
oil surged over containment barriers and spilled into the river, threatening the water
supplies of more than a million people living downriver. Swift action was necessary to
safeguard these water supplies. Thousands of feet of booms were used to contain the
oil as workers pumped it into barges and tanker trucks. Even with this massive
cleanup effort, eight water suppliers in three states were forced to shut their intake
for a few days.
LIST OF OIL SPILLS WORLDWIDE