Bioremediation challenges

ChE will be challenged to develop creative process for recycling of waste materials, rather than burning or discarding them. One potential process is bioremediation, using genetically modified microorganisms to decompose the waste. This approach has already been applied to the treatment of oil spills. 

New natural polymers based on synthesis from renewable resources, improved recyclability based on retrosynthesis to reusable precursors, and molecular suicide switches to initiate biodegradation on demand are the exciting areas in polymer science. In the area of biomolecular materials, new materials for implants with improved durability and biocompatibility, light-harvesting materials based on biomimicry of photosynthetic systems, and biosensors for analysis and artificial enzymes for bioremediation will present the breakthrough opportunities. Finally, in the field of electronics and photonics, the new challenges are molecular switches, transistors, and other electronic components molecular photoad-dressable memory devices and ferroelectrics and ferromagnets based on nonmetals. 

All this basic information has set the stage for bioremediation as an inexpensive and effective approach for cleaning contaminated soils, waters, and sediments. Considerable efforts are currently underway to develop the necessary field application techniques that make this a wholesale commercial reality. However, the complexities of the biodegradation processes involved make the efforts challenging if not, in some cases, frustrating. This is especially true for larger-scale field studies because increased variability and heterogeneity Cause difficulties in data interpretation. 

Although bioremediation has been very successful over the past decades, it is still faced with several long-term challenges. The first one facing researchers and practitioners is the accurate, quantitative determination of in situ degradation rates. Almost all of the published degradation rates have been based on laboratory... 

In order to fully utihse the potential of bioremediation for MTBE removal in reactors, several areas are of considerable challenge and interest ... 

Application of mathematical models as a tool for approaching the previously mentioned challenges. What can mathematical models tell us about the degradation of MTBE in bioreactors How can they be used to increase understanding of the factors which are most important for bioremediation of MTBE ... 

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