Biotechnology for Zero Waste – Emerging Waste Management Techniques (Chaudhery Mustansar Hussain (editor) etc.)

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Nanomaterials and Biopolymers for the Remediation of

Polluted Sites

Minchitha K. Umesha, Sadhana Venkatesh, and Swetha Seshagiri

Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Jyothy Institute of Technology, Centre for Incubation,

Innovation, Research and Consultancy (CIIRC), Department of Food Technology, Tataguni, Off Kanakapura

Road, Bangalore, 560082, India

21.1

Introduction

Increasing globalization and industrialization have profound impact on the environ-

ment. Environmental pollution together with global warming is a serious day-to-day

problem faced by the developing and the developed nations worldwide. Extensive

use of anthropogenic materials contaminates the natural ecosystem which in turn

damages the environment in long run by several means such as loss in biodiversity,

introducing heavy metals and other organic recalcitrant compounds [1]. Air, water,

soil, and solid waste pollution due to the anthropogenic sources contribute a major

share to the overall imbalance of the ecosystem.

Major part of the biosphere which is contaminated with anthropogenic substances

is soil and water. Rapid industrialization and urbanization with growing human pop-

ulation, various industrial, municipal, and agricultural sources have augmented the

pollution of soil, groundwater, and surface water.

Water pollution has become a very serious crisis in recent years. Water is mainly

contaminated with microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses, chlorinated

hydrocarbon, heavy metals, chlorine compound like trichloroethene (TCE), poly-

chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or mixtures of anthropogenic organic chlorinated

compounds (He and F), dyes, mutagens, detergents, and pesticides which are highly

reactive and water soluble in nature [2]. These compounds are carcinogenic and are

naturally non-degradable, so it persists in water and soil for longer time and reme-

diation of these compounds remains challenging. The presence of microorganisms

in water is also an important issue for drinking water production. Even very low

counts of pathogenic microbes in drinking water can lead to severe water-borne

disease.

Soil is a dynamic ecosystem which provides a support to the plant’s life. It consists

of organic matter, minerals, and various organisms. Numerous microorganisms

dwell luxuriously in the soil. Soil is defined as “the part of the solid earth

Biotechnology for Zero Waste: Emerging Waste Management Techniques, First Edition.

Edited by Chaudhery Mustansar Hussain and Ravi Kumar Kadeppagari.