The domains of action

 Drinking water production

Environment Biotechnology:
The ongoing quest
Abstract
Primarily focused on the development of technologies to treat
aqueous,
solid and gaseous wastes.
Water treatment - membrane bioreactor technology
- anerobic ammonium oxidation
- decentralised sanitation and reuse (DESAR)
Solid waste treatment - anerobic digestion
- plasma technology
-soil and sediment
(biostimulation/remediation/
augmentation)
Gases waste treatment -probiotics to upgrade aquaculture
Framework for environmental technology
-biological and biotechnology
water treatment process
 Several environmental challenges continue to exist and
their magnitude even increases.
 Spread of unwanted biological propagules is of major concern
in Europe. Costs of remediating the spread of a prion, such as
BSE or a virus, such as Foot and Mouth disease, costs the EU
staggering amounts of money.
 Until now, environmental biotechnology, has by no means
been designed in a holistic way.
 Water-shortage of water is predicted to rise considerably and
we should learn to use the cycle of water in a more efficient
way.
 Biotechnology have a major role to play in making water
systems fully closed, both at the high-tech centralised and the
low-tech decentralized level.
 Legislation and its implementation.
 Environmental quality-depends on a well-designed set of
international and national laws and regulations
Key features of biotech for the environment
 Inexpensive
 Flexible-they adapt to variable conditions (self-regulation)
and also to new molecules or combinations of new molecules.
 Perceived as ‘green’-environmental friendly.
- Presence of unwanted organisms in drinking water
- Can be treated by:
 Specific bioassay
 Molecular methods such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and fluorescence in situ
hybridization (FISH), rapidly screen for microbial species.
 Combined physical and biological process
 In-house extra treatment facility-treat tap water.
 Re-use of treated water as drinking water
 Aerobic waste water treatment
-DESAR
-two lines of action
 1st: source separation of rain water, grey water and black water
 2nd: coherent coherent processes such as biomembrane reactors with minimal sludge production
respectively nitrification-denitrification without need of organic carbon.
 Anaerobic wastewater treatment
-Anaerobic digestion performs poorly at low temperatures and therefore needs to be linked to low-value
heat recovery processes.
-focused on organic carbon removal and needs to be completed by an adequate after-treatment for N, P and
infectious propagules.
 Solid waste handling
• Plasma treatment for megascale total waste handling.
• Produce grey fraction from the latter
• Fermentative treatment of grey waste to produce valuable materials
• Integration of digestion with incineration
 Soils and sediment clean up
• Horizontal gene transfer mechanism:
-activate powerful microbial consortia not only in surface soils, in sediments and deep soils by infusing
selected energy source (eg: methane gas)
• Rhizoremediation:
-Support microbial bio-diversity in soils and sediments by using specific plant root.
• Legislative action:
-rigorous and activate mechanism to clean up the soil matrix
 Off gases and air purification
• Bio-filter technology:
-lower the level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Thiobacillus process:
-bringing out flue gas desulfurisation
• Providing bio-assay to detect estrogenic activity of aryl hydrocarbon.
• Reduce green house effect:
(eg: methanotrophic bacteria capture methane gas in atmosphere from landfill)
• Dwindling reserve of carbon captured in soils and sediments.
 Aquaculture technology
• Negative impact: nutrient release in receiving water and the use of antibiotics
• Intensive recirculation system: removal of toxic ammonia by nitrification.
• Probiotics: to improve fish health and the growth rate.
Super challenges

 Precisely modelling and documenting the existence, survival, and potential spread of
biological propagules
 Exploring and scrutinising the concept of decentralised treatment units and their potential to
generate reuses for aerobic wastewater treatment.
 Reduce cost of water treatment.Direct anaerobic treatment of domestic sewage, compulsory
for third world countries
 Preservation of microbial diversity in soil and sediments
 Production of greenhouse gases. So, need to slow down the organic mineralisation.
 Agriculture is shifting in many ways and aquaculture booming particularly.