Environmental biotechnology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/arbor.2014.768n4011Keywords:
Biorremediation, biogeochemical cycles, biofuels, microbial fuel cells, bioelectrochemical cellsAbstract
The aim of environmental biotecnology is to correct environmental imbalances caused by modern industrial activities. Many of these imbalances affect biogeochemical cycles in the biosphere, mainly catalysed by microorganisms. Deviations in the balances of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and iron compounds may cause very complex phenomena such as global warming, destruction of the ozone layer, environmental pollution and acidification of the sea. On the other hand, the poorly understood microbial interactions --either with each other or the environment-- have important consequences in generating highly recalcitrant chemical species which, accumulating in the trophic chains, are highly toxic for living organisms. To cope with these problems it is necessary to improve knowledge of microbial ecology and the functioning of the biogeochemical cycles at the molecular level, although it is also worth designing technologies to eliminate pollutants either in situ or ex situ, to avoid its uncontrolled production as well as to correct the unbalancing processes affecting phases of the biogeochemical cycles, either in the present day or in the future.
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