Bioremediation of Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems

415 Pages·2008·4.19 MB·English

BIOREMEDIATION OF AQUATIC
AND
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS

BIOREMEDIATION OF AQUATIC
AND
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
Editors
Milton Fingerman
RachakondaNagabhushanam
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Tulane University
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
Science Publishers, Inc.
Enfield (NH) Plymouth, UK
SCIENCE PUBLISHERS, INC.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bioremediation of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem /
editors, Milton Fingerman, Rachakonda Nagabhushanam.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-57808-364-8
1. Bioremediation. I. Fingerman, Milton,1928-
II. Nagabhushanam, Rachakonda.
TD192.5B55735 2005
628.5--dc22
© 2005, Copyright Reserved
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
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Published by Science Publishers, Inc., NH, USA
Printed in India.
Preface
Bioremediation, the use of microorganisms, by virtue of their biocon-
centrating and metabolic properties, to degrade, sequester, or remove
environmental contaminants, has about a 45-year history. Such uses of
microorganisms for this purpose now involve freshwater, marine, and
terrestrial environments. Bioremediation is a multidisciplinary area of
knowledge and expertise that involves basic and applied science.
Microbiologists, chemists, toxicologists, environmental engineers,
molecular biologists, and ecologists have made major contributions to this
subject.
The use of microorganisms to clean up polluted areas is increasingly
drawing attention because of the high likelihood that such bioremediation
efforts will indeed attain the effectiveness in the environment that
laboratory investigations have indicated would be the case. Among the
current broad array of research efforts in bioremediation are some directed
toward identifying organisms that possess the ability to degrade specific
pollutants. With such organisms, which have already been identified,
studies are being conducted to identify the mechanisms whereby heavy
metals are concentrated and sequestered. There are also ongoing efforts to
tailor microorganisms through genetic engineering for specific cleanup
activities. Herein, specifically, are chapters, among others, that are devoted
to petroleum spill bioremediation, bioremediation of heavy metals, the use
of genetically engineered microorganisms in bioremediation, the use of
microbial surfactants for soil remediation, and phytoremediation using
constructed treatment wetlands. A broad-based approach to bioreme-
diation of aquatic and terrestrial habitats, as exemplified by the chapters
herein, is required because of the wide variety of contaminants that are now
present in these ecosystems.
This volume, which presents the most recent information on
bioremediation, was written by a highly talented group of scientists who
are not only able to communicate very effectively through their writing, but
are also responsible for many of the advances that are described herein. We,
the editors, have been most fortunate in attracting a highly talented,
internationally respected group of investigators to serve as authors. We
intentionally set out to present a truly international scope to this volume.
vi BIOREMEDIATION OF AQUATIC & TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM
Consequently, appropriate authors from several countries were sought,
and to everyone’s benefit, our invitations to contribute were accepted.
We take pleasure in thanking the authors for their cooperation and
excellent contributions, and for keeping to the publication schedule. The
efforts of these individuals made our task much less difficult than it might
have been. Also, we especially wish to thank our wives, Maria Esperanza
Fingerman and Rachakonda Sarojini, for their constant and undimi-
nishing encouragement and support during the production of this volume.
We trust that you, the readers, will agree with us that the efforts of the
authors of the chapters in this volume will serve collectively to provide a
major thrust toward a better understanding of environmental bio-
remediation and what must be done to improve the health of our planet.
Milton Fingerman
Rachakonda Nagabhushanam
Contents
Preface v
The Contributors ix
Molecular Techniques of Xenobiotic-Degrading Bacteria and 1
Their Catabolic Genes in Bioremediation
K. Inoue, J. Widada, T. Omori and H. Nojiri
Genetic Engineering of Bacteria and Their Potential for 31
Bioremediation
David B. Wilson
Commercial Use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) 41
in Bioremediation and Phytoremediation
David J. Glass
Bioremediation of Heavy Metals Using Microorganisms 97
Pierre Le Cloirec and Yves Andrès
Guidance for the Bioremediation of Oil-Contaminated Wetlands, 141
Marshes, and Marine Shorelines
Albert D. Venosa and Xueqing Zhu
Bioremediation of Petroleum Contamination 173
Ismail M.K. Saadoun and Ziad Deeb Al-Ghzawi
Bioremediation of BTEX Hydrocarbons 213
(Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene)
Hanadi S. Rifai
Remediating RDX and HMX Contaminated Soil and Water 263
Steve Comfort
Microbial Surfactants and Their Use in Soil Remediation 311
Nick Christofi and Irena Ivshina
viii BIOREMEDIATION OF AQUATIC & TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM
Phytoremediation Using Constructed Treatment 329
Wetlands: An Overview
Alex J. Horne and Maia Fleming-Singer
Engineering of Bioremediation Processes: A Critical Review 379
Lisa C. Strong and Lawrence P. Wackett
Index 397
The Contributors
Ziad Deeb Al-Ghzawi
Department of Civil Engineering
College of Engineering
Jordan University of Science and Technology
Irbid-22110, Jordan
Yves Andrès
Ecole des Mines de Nantes
GEPEA UMR CNRS 6144
BP 20722, 4 rue Alfred Kastler
44307 Nantes cedex 03, France
Nick Christofi
Pollution Research Unit
School of Life Sciences
Napier University
10 Colinton Road
Edinburgh, EH10 5DT
Scotland, United Kingdom
Steve Comfort
School of Natural Resources
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0915, USA
Maia Fleming-Singer
Ecological Engineering Group
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of California
Berkeley, California 94720, USA
David J. Glass
D. Glass Associates, Inc., and
Applied PhytoGenetics, Inc.
124 Bird Street
Needham, Massachusetts 02492, USA