Chapter 17

Environmental Biotechnology

People need a good environment to be healthy and happy.

The average person in the U.S. creates 4.3 pounds of solid waste trash and about 100 gallons of wastewater each day. In a year, this totals 1,570 pounds of solid waste trash and 36,000 gallons of water.

Wastes require proper disposal to prevent pollution.

Water must be reconditioned for repeated use.

Environmental quality is the general condition of the natural resources and other factors where we go about life. Everything we do affects the environment somehow.

Organisms require four conditions to live, and otherwise carry out life functions. The for conditions are: food water shelter space

Environmental biotechnology is the use of living organisms or their products to manage the environment. Crop residue is the leaves, stems, and other plant materials that remain on a field after a crop is harvested.

Energy transfer is the exchange of energy by organisms at different levels in the environment. All energy comes from the Sun. The food chain is the feeding sequence in which organisms get their food. A food web is a graphical way of showing how food chains are interconnected.

Species diversity is variation in the genetic makeup within and between species.

Bioremediation is using biological processes to solve environmental problems.

A hydrocarbon is any substance that contains only carbon and hydrogen. Ex: petroleum and coal

Biodegradation is the process of bacteria, fungi,and other organisms breaking material into other substances. Carrion is the flesh of a dead animal.

Solid waste is garbage, refuse, sludge, and other discarded material.

Solid waste management deals with the collection and disposal of solid waste materials.

Recycling is reusing the material in a product or the product itself.

A landfill is an excavated area of land for the permanent disposal of wastes.

Landfills are typically constructed in soils with a high clay content. Clay slows down the movement of liquids from the landfill. These liquids are known as leachate. Plastic liners are sometimes used to prevent leachate from soaking through the soil. Hazardous materials should not be lent to landfills.

Incineration is using high temperatures to destroy waste materials.

Hazardous wastes are handled differently from typical solid wastes. A hazardous waste is a solid or liquid that poses danger to human health of the environment.

A few examples are unused paint, pesticides, batteries, household bleach, nail polish remover, and many petroleum products.
Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium are included.

Some are toxic and others are flammable, reactive, or corrosive. Those that cause cancer are known as carcinogens. Biological seeding is used to assure the presence of the appropriate microbes. It involves placing the required bacteria with the waste.

Wastewater is used water. It often contains suspended or dissolved materials.

Domestic wastewater (sewage) is form the daily living activities of people. These need to be removed before the water can be released into a reused.

Biogeochemical processes are the processes by which microbes transfer nutrients from living forms to physical forms and back to living forms. Three important Biogeochemical cycles in wastewater are: * nitrogen cycle * phosphorus cycle * sulfur cycle

Composting is promoting the biological decomposition of organic materials. Lawn clippings, leaves, and twigs are commonly at homes. Food scrapes, paper, and other readily biodegradable wastes may also be composted.

Most composting uses aerobic bacteria.

The ideal temperature for composting is 95-140 F. The best range of moisture is 40-50% water.
A pH of 5.0-8.5 is satisfactory. Home composting is useful in disposing of yard wastes and some house-hold wastes.