Solid state fermentation as a valid alternative for environmental control

Abstract

The wood preservatives have been extensively used in the last few decades to enhance the life expectancy of woody materials for external uses against natural and biological decay. The popular waste disposal options available for these expended materials nowadays, such as burning and land filling are not acceptable due to economic, health and environmental concerns. The development of alternative and environmental friendly methods for disposal of these waste materials is of major importance. Recently the use of microorganisms, such as white­rot fungi, capable to tolerate and / or degrade high pollutant concentrations for their chemical transformation into less hazardous compounds through solid state fermentation (ssf) processes has been seriously investigated. This presentation discusses a novel approach for bioremediation of creosote­treated railways wood sleepers by solid state fermentation of white­rot fungi and the possibility to combine it sequentially with phytoremediation in the frame of the eUsfA project VP­3.1­ MM­10V­ 02_010 (BIOREM).