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Geomicrobiology > Bioremediation > Flashcards

Bioremediation Flashcards

1
Q

what is bioremediation

A

the utilisation of microorganisms to transform contaminants into a benign and/or less mobile form

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2
Q

what could the remediation goals be?

A

to remove, degrade, or immobilise the contaminant

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3
Q

what are the 3 strategies

A
  1. stimulate natural microbial community
  2. add surfactants or other substances
  3. add microorganims
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4
Q

what are the options for stimulating natural microbial community

A
  • Aeration (increasing oxygen)
  • Adding nutrients (N, P, Fe…)
  • Adding PEDs or TEAs
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5
Q

finish the sentence:
add surfactants or other substances to…

A

enhance microbial attachment or dispersion

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6
Q

finish the sentence:
add microorganims that are…

A

specifically selected or bred/engineered, “bioaugmentation”

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7
Q

what is an insitu bioremediation technique

A

permeable reactive barrier - can include microorganisms or not and used for organic or inorganic contaminants

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8
Q

what are the 5 ex situ methods

A
  • slurry bioreactors
  • constructed wetlands
  • composting
  • pump and treat
  • biopiles
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9
Q

ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS: what is the goal

A

degrade the organic contaminant (oxidise it)

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10
Q

ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS: what can be used to achieve this

A
  • petroleum hydrocarbons
  • chlorinated hydrocarbons
  • plasticisers
  • solvents
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11
Q

ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS: how does aeration work

A

organic contaminants are served as PED for chemoheterotrophy
organic contaminants are degraded (oxidised) fastest via aerobic respiration)

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12
Q

ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS: when aeration is no sufficient or feasible what can be used

A

stimulating the anaerobic chemoheterotrophs that can degrade the pollutants

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13
Q

ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS: what can be the problem with stimulating anaerobic chemoheterotrophs

A

can be slow, issues with toxisity, dispersion and so may need to add nutrients and electron shuttles to help it along

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14
Q

ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS: what can be added to help microorganisms stick to contaminants

A

use surfactants or other substances to be added in order to enhance the microbial attachment or dispersion

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15
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what are the natural sources of metals

A

rocks and minerals

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16
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what are the anthropogenic sources of metal contamination

A

agriculture, metallurgy, energy production, microelectronics, mining, sewage, waste disposal

17
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what supplies lots of metals to plants and soils

A

atmospheric depostion

18
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what is one of the main sinks in terrestrial ecosystems

A

soils

19
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what is a major sink in aquatic ecosystems

A

sediments

20
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what are mobility and toxicity dependant upon

A

concentration and speciation (especially oxidation state)

21
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what is a global metal contaminant

A

Uranium

22
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what is a focus of the remediation at most nuclear sites

A

to prevent uncontrolled dispersion and transport in groundwater

23
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what is more mobile U(4) or U(6) and why

A

U(6) - the oxidised form is more mobile because it in an aqueous cation
whereas
U(4) - the reduced form has low solubilty and therefore is less mobile

24
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what are the 4 potential strategies to prevent dispersion of Uranium

A
  1. Bioreduction
  2. Biosorption
  3. Bioaccumulation
  4. Biomineralisation
25
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what does bioreduction include

A

adding electron donors

26
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what does biosorption do

A

passive sorption of U onto cell surfaces

27
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what does bioaccumulation do

A

cells uptake contaminant

28
Q

METALS AS CONTAMINANTS: what does biomineralisation do

A

induces precipitation of mineral

Geomicrobiology (12 decks)

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