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Bioremediation: Recent Advancements and Limitations

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Sustainable Environmental Geotechnics

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering ((LNCE,volume 89))

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Abstract

Bioremediation is a process that uses living organisms, mostly naturally occurring microorganisms, to degrade, detoxify, and/or transform contaminants from wastewater and contaminated soils. The technology is considered as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach, and has been used to decontaminate different kinds of contaminants, such as toxic heavy metals and organic compounds. With emphasis on biodegradation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), one of the most common contaminants that occur both in developed and developing countries, this paper overviews some recent advancements and limitations associated with biodegradation. The most significant advancements include biodegradation of multiple contaminants and understanding of microbial process including the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS), and stable-isotope probing (SIP) techniques to identify functional microbial species. The limitations and future challenges include, but not limited to selecting and supplying stimulating materials, and promoting contact between contaminants, microorganisms, and stimulating materials in engineering practice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, 1-1-1, Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8567, Japan

    Ming Zhang & Miho Yoshikawa

Authors
  1. Ming Zhang
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  2. Miho Yoshikawa
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Correspondence to Ming Zhang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA

    Krishna R. Reddy

  2. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India

    Arvind K. Agnihotri

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey

    Yeliz Yukselen-Aksoy

  4. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal, India

    Brajesh K. Dubey

  5. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India

    Ajay Bansal

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Zhang, M., Yoshikawa, M. (2020). Bioremediation: Recent Advancements and Limitations. In: Reddy, K.R., Agnihotri, A.K., Yukselen-Aksoy, Y., Dubey, B.K., Bansal, A. (eds) Sustainable Environmental Geotechnics. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 89. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51350-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51350-4_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-51349-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-51350-4

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