Environmental biotechnology uses microorganisms to solve environmental problems such as treating wastewater and solid waste, purifying air, degrading pollutants, and producing renewable fuels and materials. It involves processes like bioremediation which uses bacteria and fungi to break down hazardous waste, and biosensors which use microbes to detect pollutants. Key microorganisms employed include Pseudomonas bacteria to degrade hydrocarbons and activated sludge microbes to treat water. Biogas is also produced via microbial fermentation of organic wastes.

1. «Biotechnology microorganisms in environmental protection»

2. Plan
1. What is Environmental biotechnology?
2. The Definition of Bioremediation
3. Biosensors and Biofuels
4. The microorganisms used in the
enviromental protection
5. Other Important Microbial Processes
6. References
Biotechnology microorganisms in environmental protection

3. Environmental biotechnology is the solving of
environmental problems through the application of
biotechnology in the following areas:
● biotreatment of solid waste (utilization and disposal of
hazardous industrial wastes, cleaning Wastewater)
● biological purification of air from aromatic substances;
● biodegradation of xenobiotics in the environment;
● biological reclamation of lands, soils contaminated with
organic chemistry and oil;
● provision of renewable energy sources and raw
materials based on organic waste and biomass (biogas
and other types of secondary fuels, the transformation
of organic fertilizers, etc.)
Environmental biotechnology:

4. Definition of Bioremediation:
Ore
 Bioremediation is the use of bacteria (or
fungi) to clean up hazardous environmental
wastes.
 The bacteria and fungy essentially turn the
dangerous waste products into less
hazardous, easy to dispose of, waste.
 Plants are also being tested in some areas to
do this job (Sunflowers at Chernobyl
removed Cesium and Strontium).
 Today, many countries are experiencing a
shortage of clean fresh water.

5. Definition of Bioremediation:
Ore
 Microorganisms play a very important role in the
purification of water and soils from waste from the
dairy and pulp and paper industries, in the production
of dyes and fertilizers, and in the disinfection of
harmful gases. Microbes decompose and remove
from the environment various plastics, polymers,
detergents, help to get rid of contamination of soil
and water with oil and its processing products,
various pesticides. Some microorganisms, including
microscopic algae, are capable of capturing and
accumulating rare and precious metals in relatively
large quantities.

6. Biotechnology methods of water purification:
• The first is using bacteria of the
genus Pseudomonas, which can
utilize naphthalene, toluene,
alkanes, camphor, insecticides,
herbicides and other xenobiotics.
• The basis of the second method is
the use of cleaning water activated
sludge. Activated sludge consists of
70% of living organisms and 30% of
solid particles of inorganic nature.

7. Biological cleaning of gas-air emissions:
• The basis of biological methods is the ability of microorganisms to
assimilate air pollutants.
The main advantages of biological methods:
1) with the help of microorganisms a wide range of contaminants
can be removed, including toxic and fetid substances, even if they
are contained in low concentrations;
2) the most important advantage of biological methods of air
purification over chemical ones is the possibility of carrying out
the process at ordinary temperature (10–40°C) and atmospheric
pressure;
3) the end products are simple compounds, often organic substances
decompose to carbon dioxide and water.

8. Biosensors :
• A biosensor uses a
biological entity (i.e.
bacteria) to monitor levels
of certain chemicals or
uses chemicals to monitor
levels of certain
biological entities (i.e.
pathogens).

9. Biosensors :
• Current uses of biosensors
include:
• Detecting levels of toxins in an
ecosystem
• Detecting airborne pathogens (i.e.
anthrax)
• Monitoring blood glucose levels

10. Biofuels:
 A biofuel is a plant derived fuel that
is deemed more environmentally
friendly that current fuel sources as
they all release less carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere.
 Ethanol from corn is placed in many
gasoline varieties in North America.
 Biodiesel is fuel made from used
cooking oil.
 Biogas is made from gases released
by a landfill.

11. Biofuels:
• The current project of many biofuel
scientists is aptly nicknamed “A Journey to
Forever”, creating a self-sustaining biofuel
cell that gives off no greenhouse gas
emissions.
• Many different bacterial strains can produce
lots of hydrogen under anaerobic conditions.
• This hydrogen can be used as a fuel source
with the only waste product being oxidized
hydrogen… water.
• This technology has not been perfected yet.

12. Biogas technologies :
• Rod shaped
• Relatively quick growing
• Gram negative
• Strictly aerobic
• Aerobic conditions uses Fe2+ or
reduced S (S2-) as electron
acceptor
• Anoxic conditions use Fe3+ as
electron acceptor
• , temperatures of 20-35 degree C
and pH of 2.0
Common substrates of biogas are obtained from
different organic wastes.
It’s important to make research of
physicochemical properties of complex organic
substrates and communities of bacteria which are
optimal for methane fermentation.

13. Research of biosystems and processes in magnetostatic field:
• Research of self-organization
processes in the metal-electrolyte
system in magnetostatic field
• Sorption of heavy metals ions by
Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells
using ferromagnetic elements system.

14. What is bioconversion?
• Bioconversion is the conversion of organic materials,
such as plant or animal waste, into usable products or
energy sources by biological processes or agents, such
as certain microorganisms or enzymes.
• Things to consider:
1. What to convert
2. What to use
3. What to get

15. What bioconversion can do:
• Bioconversion can be carried out physically,
thermochemically and biologically.
• This process has been applied in the production of
foodstuffs, organic chemicals and energy.
• Biological methods for bioconversion has given
priority with the use of microorganisms as less
expensive yet effective agents.
• This process is also known as fermentation.

16. A conventional Experiment illustrating relationship between
Microorganisms and their environments: Winogradsky column
A. Mud from the bottom of a lake or river is supplemented
with cellulose (e.g. newspaper), sodium sulphate and calcium
carbonate, then added to the lower one-third of the tube (30
cm tall and 5 cm diameter).
B. The rest of the tube is filled with water from the lake or
river, and the tube is capped and placed near a window with
supplementary lights.
C. What will happen with the mud?

17. Winogradsky column:
• The mud become stratified with
different colors and looks beautiful
(right-handed, figure)!
• The different types of
microorganism proliferate and
occupy distinct zones where the
environmental conditions favour
their specific activities.

18. Deep Biosphere:
Evidence is growing for the support of a biosphere living up to 1 km below the
earth’s surface. Bacteria in this deep biosphere have been found in even
crystalline basalt rocks below marine sediments, and their biomass may exceed
that above the surface. This biosphere is driven by geo-gasses, and is similar to
deep ocean vent （）ecosystems. Could also exist on other planets, e.g., Mars.
Hydrothermal Vent
Tubeworms and
bacterial symbionts
Chemistry of the Deep Biosphere

19. Rumen Microbial Ecosystem
Feed (grasses or grain)
Cellulose and Starch
Glucose
Complex anaerobic microbial system found in the rumen
Lactate Succinate H2 + CO2
Formate
Acetate
Propionate
Butyrate
CH4
CO2
Protein
Reactions mediated by dozens of bacterial species,
including protozoan grazers such as ciliates
Fermentation
Methanogens
Digested
Similar systems found in termites
Greenhouse
gases

20. Chemical Potential Exploitation
Schulz et al. 1999:
Thiomargarita namibiensis
Boetius et al. 2000:
H2S oxidation by NO3
- CH4 oxidation by SO4
2-
Observations consistent with systems maximizing energy degradation
1 mm
Strous et al. 1999:
Planctomycete
Anammox
NH4
+ + NO2
- = N2 + 2H2O

21. Other examples, Microbially-coupled Systems: Symbiosis
and Endosymbiosis
Lichen: Fungi + Algae Sulfur bacteria in
Riftia
Dinoflagellates in
flatworm
Mycorrhizae

22. Prokaryotic Differentiation
Ben-Jacob (1998) Paenibacillus dendritiformis
Cell-to-cell signaling compounds (such as N-acyl
homoserine lactones) allow bacterial species to exhibit
multicellular characteristics.

23. • Almost all biomass and processes in the oceans are dominated by microbes.
• Largest organism on Earth is a fungus (Armillaria ostoyae; honey mushroom).
• Major sources and sinks for atmospheric trace greenhouse gasses (CH4, N2O).
• Cycling of iron (Fe3+  Fe2+), Manganese (Mn4+  Mn2+) and other metals.
• Cause of many diseases, especially in 3rd world countries.
• Very high species abundance, current estimate of 107 species in 10 g of soil.
Other Important Microbial Processes
• Nutrient cycling under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Removal
of excess nitrogen via nitrification and denitrification in eutrophic
systems. NH4  NO3  N2
• Fixation of N2 gas into organic N, especially in root nodules via
symbiosis with bacteria, such as Rhizobium.
• N2  Amino Acids
• Remediation of toxic substances (bioremediation or natural
attenuation).

24. Сonclusion
• In conclusion, it should be noted that in
Environmental biotechnology are following
Microbial applications:
• water and wastewater treatment
• composting (and landfilling) of solid waste
• biodegradation/bioremediation of toxic chemicals
and hazardous waste
• in the preparation of biosensors and biofuel
• in bioconversion process