Bioremediation of Hazardous Wastes

Abstract

The remediation of the contaminated environment using the physical, thermal, or chemical methods has been criticized due to their high-cost implication, non-eco-friendly and inability to meet remediation objectives. Bioremediation offers the application of environmentally benign and cost-effective biological techniques for the remediation of contaminated sites. This chapter provides an overview of bioremediation technologies for the remediation of hazardous substances in the environment while highlighting the application of bioturbation as a promising bioremediation tool for the effective treatment of organic and inorganic contaminants. Given the success of bioremediation, most of these technologies are yet to be applied on a large scale which presents a drawback to this technique. Challenges and prospects for the effective application of bioremediation technologies were discussed.