Decontamination of biological waste: means and possibilities

Abstract

Nowadays, more and more of the nature getting polluted because of the human interference. In order to neutralize and remove pollutants it is important to choose appropriate and environmentally friendly methods. Biological waste is a biohazardous product, which could potentially be harmful to living organisms. In this context, bioremediation is a waste management technique that introduces microorganisms, plants or fungi to eliminate environmental pollutants. The aforementioned techniques can be used in two ways: “in situ”, when infected material is treated in place, and “ex situ”, when it is processed elsewhere. There are a few types of bioremediation that currently are used. Phytoremediation is a method when plants are used to remove biological waste from soil and water. Plants can remove metals, pesticides, solvents, crude oil and use it as nutrients or accumulate it. The use of fungi in bioremediation is called mycoremediation. Fungi break down waste via secretion of enzymes. Besides this, mushrooms’ fruiting bodies can be utilized as a source of food proteins [0]. In addition, microbial biomass can be used to absorb heavy metals’ ions [0]. There is a possibility to combine these methods to make bioremediation more effective. An example would be neutralization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) using bioremediation by microorganisms, biosorption, phytoremediation, etc. [0]. The mentioned strategies may help to make the elimination of biological waste effortless and low-cost.