BIOREMEDIATION

The function of Microbial Inoculants in Remediation of Contaminated Soil or Water - A Cost Effective, Eco-friendly, Sustainable Alternative to current remediation practices.  

Microbe Selection
Beneficial bacteria and fungi are selected for desirable environmental capabilities. Naturally occurring microbes are screened for their capabilities and promising strains are assembled into formulations, to work as a team, and thus have a beneficial impact on the environment.

Beneficial Microbes and their Advantages
Bioremediation using Allcrobe's microbial mixtures allow a sustainable cost effective solution and alternative to traditional remediation treatment methods for Industrially created problems.   Bioremediation (microbial inoculation) introduces a team of beneficial microbes to a situation (ie: oil contamination - thus allowing in-situ redmediation), or increases the numbers of natural occurring microbes (ie: composting, thus enabling a faster degradation period and commercial turn-around).
Science is continually discovering new advantages of the micro world and their capabilities, and discovering new strains, and many resourceful end-users continue to find new and innovative ways to use the Microbial products to their advantage.   Microbes offer a cleaner, energy efficient, cost effective, natural way to aide solutions for environmental problems.

What is Bioremediation?

Bioremediation relates to process's that uses micro-organisms, (bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi) enzymes or plants, to remove or degrade contaminants, and return the soil or water to its original condition. Bioremediation is used to degrade specific soil or groundwater contaminants, such as petroleum products (oil, diesel, paraffin) as well as contaminants that are more harmful, for instance, chlorinated hydrocarbons TCE, DCE, Phenols and Terpenes. The micro-organisms metablolize these compounds converting them to water and harmless gasses. The micro-organisms utilize these contaminants as a food source, and as such they can degrade the contaminates in land and water thereby removing the contaminants to well below environmnetally acceptable levels, given the correct environment for the microbes to work in.

What are the Advantages of Bioremediation?

Bioremediation is becoming the preferred method to restore soil and ground water to its original condition. Some of the advantages Bioremediation has over conventional methods are:

Bioremediation is generally a more cost effective method of treating contaminated soil or water

Bioremediation is a natural process of breaking down contaminants in soil and water

Microbial bioremediation uses naturally occurring microbes that are good for the environment

Bioremediation is beneficial to the environment reverting harmful contaminants to harmless natural H2O and carbon

Only beneficial products to enhance the microbial bioremediation processes are used

Once hydrocarbons have been digested by the microbes the microbes then die and become part of the natural environment

Bioremediation enables effective in-situ remediation

In-situ Bioremediation

In-situ bioremediation refers to treatment of contamination on site without digging up (soil) and removing it. The process of in-situ bioremediation includes more than just microbial injections. It also includes the use of beneficial biochemical compounds to assist the process.

Microbes need a specific environment in which to flourish or else they quickly die. Microbes need a combination of oxygen and nutrients to enable them to metabolize contaminants.
In-situ bioremediation has many advantages over an off-site or ex-situ remediation project (digging it up and transporting it to a dump or remediation facility.) One of the greatest advantages to in-situ bioremediation is the ability to inject microbes or a combination of components to assist with degrading compounds into and beneath areas situated adjacent to tanks, concrete slabs, manifolds, wellheads or pipelines. Manual excavation of these areas is often a slow, tedious and expensive operation using non-ferrous tools to minimize the possibility of sparking.

For in-situ bioremediation using capable microbial and other amendments for hydrocarbon spills into ponds, tanks or other aqueous environments, the surface of the impoundment is simply over-sprayed with amendments and left to work on their own. The results are often quite dramatic achieving non-detectable TPH concentrations within twenty-four hours. It's an especially cost effective tenchique in removing the unsightly and difficult to get to hydrocarbon ring on the soils at the water's edge.

In-situ bioremediation of underground water is also an extremely cost effective and eco-friendly option and can be more effective than conventional methods, because given the right conditions, microbes will degrade contaminants.

This new technology eliminates the need to raise a building and dig out the contamination from beneath. The following lists further advantages of in-situ remediation:

Minimal disturbance to the environment

Dramatic cost savings over conventional dig and dump (30% to 60% of conventional costs).

No further risk of spills that may occur in transport.

Environmentally responsible.

In-situ remediation whenever possible is the most eco-friendly, cost effective method of remediation.

Current Practice: Off-site Remediation

Off-site, or ex-situ involves digging up the contaminated soil and transporting it off site with some risks and disadvantages that in-situ eliminates. Off-site, although in certain circumstances, is the only option, has its draw backs and effects the environment in a number of ways.

Treatment site will be disturbed, and digging contaminants could release harmful gasses and chemicals into the air.

The contamination problem is not entirely solved and responsibility for contaminated soil has been shifted from one site to the dump site.

Many dump sites will not take contaminated material, as they leach and increase the possibilities of contamination of aquifers, therefore special requirements have to be implemented in these sites to ensure such leaching does not occur. As the human population increases, and land space is under pressure, expansion of dump sites becomes more difficult, leading to the demand for remediation of exisiting dump sites, and the accumulating problems within these dump sites become more prevalent. Which gives cause and credence to the advantages of treating where ever possible in-situ.

Where off-site treatments must be used, bio-remediation offers environmentally responsible alternatives for the treatment of excavated material.

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