TERM PAPER OF

BIOPROCESS ENGG.(BTY304)
TOPIC

:-

KINETICS
SUBMITTED TO :-

MR. C. P. PANDIYA
SUBMITTED TO : PRITI SINGH
REG.NO. :- 3440070133
B.TECH BIOTECH (MBA)
ROLL NO. B7703A13

CELL

DEALTH

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I, priti hereby take the advantage to thank my teacher Mrs. C.p.pandiya for
assigning me such a wonderful topic for my term paper& extending me consistent
help, support & guiding throughout the project.

Also, I will like to thank my friends for aiding me with the requisite materials &
information for my project.
My immeasurable gratitude to my roommates & my parents cannot be expressed in
words for the support they have provided.

PRITI SINGH

TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION..1
HISTROY..1-3
PRICIPLE..3-4
CAUSES/PROBLEMS......4-5

METHOD,,.5-12
SOLUTIONS12-13
RECENT WORK.13-15
REFRENCES16

INTRODUCTION
The term Environment is defined as our surroundings which includes the abiotic component
(the non living) and biotic component (the living) around us. The abiotic environment includes
water, air and soil while the biotic environment consists of all living organisms plants, animals
and microorganisms. Environmental pollution broadly refers to the presence of undesirable
substances in the environment which are harmful to man and other organisms. In the past decade
or two, there has been a significant increase in the levels of environmental pollution mostly due
to direct or indirect human activities. The major sources of environmental pollution are
Industries, Agricultural sources (mainly rural area), anthropogenic sources (man related activities

mainly in urban areas), biogenic sources etc. The pollutants are chemical, biological and physical
in nature. The Chemical pollutants include- gaseous pollutants (hazardous gases like sulfur
dioxide, nitrogen oxide), toxic metals, pesticides, herbicides toxins and carcinogens
Etc. The physical pollutants are- heat, sound, radiation, and radioactive substances. The
pathogenic organisms and some poisonous and dangerous biological products are the biological
pollutants.
Controlling the environmental pollution and the conservation of environment and biodiversity
and controlling environmental pollution are the major focus areas of all the countries around the
world. In this context the importance and impact of biotechnological approaches and the
implications of biotechnology has to be thoroughly evaluated. There have been serious concerns
regarding the use of biotechnology products and the impact assessment of these products due to
their interaction with the environmental factors.

HISTORY
In early human history the environmental impacts of small bands of hunter-gatherers would have
been relatively small, even though the use of fire and the desire for specific foods may have
altered the natural composition of plant and animal communities. The Neolithic Revolution
2,500 to 10,000 years ago marked the emergence of agriculture and settled communities.
Societies outgrowing their local food supply or depleting critical resources either moved on or
faced collapse. In contrast, stable communities of shifting cultivators and horticulturists existed
in New Guinea and South America, and large agrarian communities in China, India, Polynesia
and elsewhere have farmed in the same localities for centuries. A Sumerian Harvester's sickle
dated to about 3000 BC. Technological advances over several millennia gave humans increasing
control over the environment. But it was the Western industrial revolution of the 17th to 19th
centuries that tapped into the vast growth potential of the energy in fossil fuels to power
sophisticated machinery technology. These conditions led to a human population explosion and
unprecedented industrial, technological and scientific growth that has continued to this day. From
1650 to 1850 the global population doubled from around 500 million to 1 billion people. the 20th

century, the industrial revolution had resulted in an exponential increase in the human
consumption of resources and an increase in health, wealth and population. Ecology as a new
scientific discipline was gaining general acceptance and ideas now part and parcel to
sustainability were being explored including the recognition of the interconnectedness of living
systems, the importance of global natural cycles, the passage of energy through trophic levels of
living systems. Published in 1962, Silent Spring was one of the books that gave momentum to
the movement. After the deprivations of the Great Depression and World War II the developed
world entered a post-1950s "great acceleration of growth and population (the "Golden age of
capitalism") while a gathering environmental movement pointed out that there were
environmental costs associated with the many material benefits that were now being enjoyed.
Technological innovations included plastics, synthetic chemicals and nuclear energy as fossil
fuels also continued to transform society. The negative influences of the new technology were
documented by American marine biologist and naturalist Rachel Carson in her influential book
Silent Spring in 1962. A period of peak oil production was anticipated in 1956 by American
geoscientist M. King Hubbert's peak oil theory. In the 1970s environmentalism's concern with
pollution, the population explosion, consumerism and the depletion of finite resources found
expression in Is growth obsolete?, by American economists William Nordhaus and James Tobin,
Small Is Beautiful, by British economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher in 1973, and The Limits to
Growth published by the global think tank, the Club of Rome, in 1975. By the late twentieth
century environmental problems were becoming global in scale. and the 1973 and 1979 energy
crises demonstrated the extent to which the global community had become dependent on a
nonrenewable resource. In 1987 the United Nation's World Commission on Environment and
Development (the Brundtland Commission), in its report Our Common Future suggested that
sustainable development was needed to meet human needs while not increasing environmental
problems. In 1961 almost all countries in the world had the capacity to meet their own demand
but by 2005 the situation had changed and many countries were able to meet their needs only by
importing resources from other nations. A move toward more sustainable living emerged, based
on increasing public awareness and adoption of recycling, and renewable energies. The
development of renewable sources of energy in the 1970s and 80's, primarily in wind turbines
and photovoltaics and increased use of hydroelectricity, presented more sustainable alternatives

to fossil fuel and nuclear energy generation. In the 21st century there is heightened awareness of
the threat posed by the human-induced greenhouse effect.

PRINCIPLES
1. Reduce dependence upon fossil fuels, underground metals, and minerals
2. Reduce dependence upon synthetic chemicals and other unnatural substances
3. Reduce encroachment upon nature
4. Meet human needs fairly & efficiently
One approach to living, exemplified by small-scale urban transition towns and rural ecovillages,
seeks to create self-reliant communities based on principles of simple living, which maximise
self-sufficiency particularly in food production. These principles, on a broader scale, underpin
the concept of a bioregional economy. Other approaches, loosely based around new urbanism,
are successfully reducing environmental impacts by altering the built environment to create and
preserve sustainable cities which support sustainable transport. Residents in compact urban
neighbourhoods drive fewer miles, and have significantly lower environmental impacts across a
range of measures, compared with those living in sprawling suburbs.
Ultimately, the degree of human progress towards sustainability will depend on large scale social
movements which influence both community choices and the built environment. Ecomunicipalities may be one such movement. Eco-municipalities take a systems approach, based
on sustainability principles. The eco-municipality movement is participatory, involving
community members in a bottom-up approach. In Sweden, more than 70 cities and towns 25
per cent of all municipalities in the country have adopted a common set of "Sustainability
Principles" and implemented these systematically throughout their municipal operations. There
are now twelve eco-municipalities in the United States and the American Planning Association
has adopted sustainability objectives based on the same principles.

PROBLEMS

ARISING

RESOURCES

Deforestation

FROM

EXPLOITATION

OF

NATURAL

Desertification

Extinction of species

Soil erosion

Oil depletion

Ozone depletion

Greenhouse gas increase

DEFORESTATION is the clearance of naturally occurring forests by logging and

burning.Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees or derived charcoal are used as, or
sold, for fuel or as a commodity, while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock,
plantations of commodities, and settlements. The removal of trees without sufficient
reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. It has
adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide

DESERTIFICATION is the extreme deterioration of land in arid and dry sub-humid

areas due to loss of vegetation and soil moisture; desertification results chiefly from manmade activities and influenced by climatic variations. It is principally caused by
overgrazing, overdrafting of groundwater and diversion of water from rivers for human
consumption and industrial use, all of these processes fundamentally driven by
overpopulation.

The HOLOCENE EXTINCTION is the widespread, ongoing extinction of species

during the present Holocene epoch. The large number of extinctions span numerous
families of plants and animals including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and
arthropods; a sizeable fraction of these extinctions are occurring in the rainforests.

EROSION is the process of weathering and transport of solids (sediment, soil, rock and
other particles) in the natural environment or their source and deposits them elsewhere. It
usually occurs due to transport by wind, water, or ice; by down-slope creep of soil and

other material under the force of gravity; or by living organisms, such as burrowing
animals, in the case of bioerosion.

Oil well production curves typically end in an exponential decline. At natural rates, oil
well production curves appear similar to a bell curve, a phenomenon known as the
Hubbert curve.

OZONE DEPLETION describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady
decline of about 4 percent per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere
ozone layer) since the late 1970s, and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in
stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the same period. The latter
phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole. In addition to this well-known
stratospheric ozone depletion, there are also tropospheric ozone depletion events, which
occur near the surface in polar regions during spring.

GREENHOUSE GASES are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation
within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the
greenhouse effect.[1] The main greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water
vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. In our solar system, the
atmospheres of Venus, Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause greenhouse effects.

METHODS
Development of alternate cleaner technologies using biotechnology
Biotechnology is being used to provide alternative cleaner technologies which will help to
further reduce the hazardous environmental implications of the traditional technologies. E.g.
some Fermentation technologies have some serious environmental implications. Various
biotechnological processes have been devised in which all nutrients introduced for fermentation
are retained in the final product, which ensures high conversion efficiency and low
environmental impact.

INTEGRATION OF BIOLOGICAL STEPS IN PULPING PROCESS LEADING TO

LIGNIN DEGRADATION

Bioremediation
Bioremediation is defined as the process of using microorganisms to remove the environmental
pollutants where microbes serve as scavengers. The removal of organic wastes by microbes leads
to environmental cleanup. The other names/terms used for bioremediation are biotreatment,
bioreclamation, and biorestoration. The term Xenobiotics (xenos means foreign) refers to the
unnatural, foreign and synthetic chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, refrigerants, solvents
and other organic compounds. The microbial degradation of xenobiotics also helps in reducing
the environmental pollution.
BIOTECHNOLOGICAL METHOD TO REDUCE ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE
(CO2)
Biotechnological methods have been used to reduce the atmospheric CO2 content at two levels:
a) Photosynthesis- Plants utilize CO2 during the photosynthesis which reduces the CO2 content
in

the

atmosphere.

The

equation

for

photosynthesis

is:

sunlight
6CO2
Chlorophyll

6H2O---------->C6H12O6

6O2

The fast growing plants utilize the CO2 more efficiently for photosynthesis. The techniques of
micropropagation and synthetic seeds should be used to increase the propagation of such fast
growing plants.
b) Biological Calcification- Certain deep sea organisms like corals, green and red algae store
CO2 through a process of biological calcification. As the CaCO3 gets precipitated, more and
more atmospheric CO2 can be utilized for its formation. The process of calcification is as
follows:
H2O+CO2---------->H2CO3
H 2CO3 + Ca 2+----------------> CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O
TREATMENT OF SEWAGE USING MICROORGANISMS
The sewage is defined as the waste water resulting from the various human activities, agriculture
and industries and mainly contains organic and inorganic compounds, toxic substances, heavy
metals and pathogenic organisms. The sewage is treated to get rid of these undesirable
substances by subjecting the organic matter to biodegradation by microorganisms. The
biodegradation involves the degradation of organic matter to smaller molecules (CO2, NH3, PO4
etc.) and requires constant supply of oxygen.
TREATMENT OF INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENTS USING BIOTECHNOLOGY
The industrial effluents should be properly treated in order to control the environmental
pollution. The industrial effluent often contains toxic materials like suspended solids and soluble
organic compounds, heavy metals, cyanides, non-biodegradable chemical and volatile materials
like H2 S and SO2 etc.
USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR TOXIC SITE RECLAMATION
Generally incineration (drying and then burning to ashes in furnace) or chemical treatment are
being used to get rid of toxins and waste from the waste disposal sites.

The most common pollutants are: hydrocarbons, chlorinated, solvents, polychlorobiphenyls and
metals.

The

bioremediation

of

soil

involves

two

processes:

a) Biostimulation- Biostimulation involves the stimulaton of microorganisms already present in

the soil. This can be done by adding nutrients e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus etc., by supplying cosubstrates e.g. methane which can degrade trichloroethylene, or by adding surfactants to disperse
the

hydrophobic

compounds

in

water.

b) Bioaugmentation- Addition of specific microorganisms to the polluted soil constitutes

bioaugmentation. Some of the pollutants like polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), trinitrotoluene (TNT),
polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) etc are not degraded by only native soil microorganisms so a
combination of microorganisms referred to as consortium or cocktail of microorganisms is
added

to

achieve

bioaugmentation.

c) Bioventing- Bioventing involves aerobic biodegradation of pollutants by circulating air

through sub-surfaces of soil and is one of the very cost effective and efficient technique used for
the bioremediation of petroleum contaminated soils. It is very effectively used for degradation of
soluble

paraffins,

and

polyaromatic

hydrocarbons.

d) Phytoremediation- Bioremediation by using plants is called phytoremediation. Certain plant

species which have the capability to stimulate biodegradation of pollutants (specially near the
soil adjacent to roots- rhizophere) are cultivated near the sites of polluted soil.
e) Land farming- Landfarming is a technique for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon
contaminated soils. In this the soil is excavated, mixed with microorganisms and nutrients and
spread

out

on

liner

just

below

the

polluted

soil.

f) Use of slurry-phase bioreactors- In this process, the excavated polluted soil is subjected to
bioremediation under optimal controlled conditions in specifically designed bioreactors.

SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

3'R's are the solutions viz., REDUCE, RECYCLE & REUSE

1.

REDUCE

Consumption of natural resources to the extent possible

Emission of carbon into atmosphere
Developmental projects affecting environment
Human activities acclerating global warming and climate changes
Deforestation for developmental activities
Consumption of non biodegradable materials in every day life
Human activities causing pollution of water bodies, air, forests, soil

Consumption of energy to reduce pollution and exploitation of nature

2.
RECYCLE
All wasted/spent natural resources to reduce their consumption
All used materials with the available technologies
All used materials manufactured with trees/plants to reduce deforestation

3.
REUSE
All spent natural resources to reduce more fresh consumption
All materials manufactured with trees/plants for their conservation
All recycled materials to reduce the demand
ALSO: Education. It is not this simple to solve our current-day environmental problems. There
has to be a paradigm shift in our way of thought and the way we perceive our environment. Still,
these ideas are being very much debated.

RECENT WORK
USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE REMOVAL OF OIL AND GREASE DEPOSITS
The oil spills from oil tankers on land surface as well as in seas and oceans are a major
environmental hazard. This not only kills the aquatic flora and fauna by destroying the habitat
but also creates health problems for the local inhabitants. Traditionally chemical dispersants are
being used as remediation efforts. However these chemical dispersants are also toxic in nature
and they persist in the environment for a long time. The present techniques of washing the oil off
the gravel and cleaning the area of oil spills, is very expensive and time consuming. In order to
overcome some of these problems, the oleophilic fertilizers are being developed which allow
rapid growth and multiplication of microbes which further leads to the increase in the
biodegradation process for removal of oil
USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN REDUCING THE USE OF CHEMICAL PESTICIDES,
HERBICIDES AND FERTILIZERS
A lot of debate is going on the overuse of chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. They
become an environmental hazard because they undergo degradation by microorganisms and
ultraviolet light which releases toxic chemicals in the environment. Using biotechnology,
bacterial pesticides and viral pesticides are being developed which will help in reducing the use
of chemical pesticides.. The trials are going on to use the genetically engineered live soil bacteria
for coating seeds before planting. Another method being tried is to kill the recombinant bacteria
and apply them to the leaves of crop plants. Both these approaches protect the toxin from
degradation by microbes or ultraviolet rays once applied to the crop plants.
BIOFERTILIZERS
Biofertilizers are also being used in place of chemical fertilizers to further reduce the
environmental hazards caused due to chemical fertilizers. The term biofertilizers is used to refer

to the nutrient inputs of biological origin to support plant growth which is generally achieved by
the addition of microbial inoculants as a source of biofertlizers. Biofertilizers broadly includes
the following categories:
A)Symbiotic nitrogen fixers- The diazotrophic microorganisms are the symbiotic nitrogen fixers
that serve as biofertilizers e.g. Rhizobium sp., Bradyrhizopium sp.
B) Asymbiotic nitrogen fixers- The asymbiotic nitrogen fixing bacteria can directly convert the
gaseous nitrogen to nitrogen rich compounds. e.g. Azobacter sp., Azospirillum sp.

D) Organic fertilizers- Certain types of organic wastes are used as fertilizers e.g. animal dung
urine, urban garbage, sewage, crop residues and oil cakes.

ROLE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN RESTORATION

The urbanization and increased human activity has led to degradation of habitats. The
restoration of the degraded lands can be carried out by using biotechnology which involves the
manipulations of biological systems. This restoration could be carried out by the following
biotechnological methods:
a)

Use

of

micropropagation

and

mycorrhiza

for

reforestation

One of the approaches to tackle this problem is to develop strong and superior species which
have the capability to grow well on degraded lands. Mycorrhizae, which are symbiotic nonpathogenic associations between plant roots and fungi, improves the seedling survival and
growth by enhancing uptake of nutrients and water.
b) Improvement of soil infertility through the use of nitrogen fixing bacteria, Rhizobium in
association with leguminous trees and Frankia in association with non leguminous species.
Biotechnological methods are being developed to help the non-leguminous plants to survive
under adverse conditions such as low nutrient supply. There are about 160 species of

angiosperms, which are known to form nitrogen fixing root nodules with the actinomycetes
bacteria belonging to the genus Frankia which is being used for this purpose.
c) Development of plants tolerant to abiotic stress which can be grown on degraded lands
The techniques like tissue culture and genetic engineering are being used to develop plants
resistant to abiotic stresses e.g. salinity, acidity, aluminium toxicity etc. The cell lines which
exhibit resistance to salt stress are selected and then used for plantation on degraded lands. E.g.
Brassica spp., Citrus aurantium, Nicotiana tabacum etc"Triticale" which is a man made
synthetic crop has been found suitable for growing on acid soils, dry and sandy soils, on alkaline
and calcareous soils and on mineral deficient and high boron soils especially in countries like
Kenya, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil etc..
e) Use of selected and engineered microbes for removal and recovery of strategic and
precious metals from contaminated degraded lands.
The domestic and industrial effluents often contain harmful heavy metals. These heavy metals
cause soil contamination when these effluents are used for irrigation purposes. The
biotechnological methods and procedures are being developed to prevent the contamination by
these heavy metals and also restore the contaminated soils.
f) Use of biotechnology in the conservation of biodiversity
otechnology offers special methods to conserve both animal and plant genetic resources
especially in the conservation of endangered plant species. The tissue culture method is being
used to multiply an endangered plant species. The method of embryo transfer and artificial
insemination is used for the multiplication of endangered animal species.

REFRENCES

 http://www.biotechnology4u.com/biotechnology_environment_role_
%20biotechnology_restorhttp://www.biotechnology4u.com/biotechnology_environment_
role_
%20biotechnology_restorahttp://www.biotechnology4u.com/biotechnology_environment
_role_%20biotechnology_restoration_degraded_lands.html
www.informaworld.com/index/713703247.pdf
www.ias.ac.in/currsci/apr252000/reviewarticles.pdf
mic.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/full/156/3/609

www.wikipedia.comtion_degraded_lands.html
www.informaworld.comindex/713703247.pdf
www.ias.ac.in/currsci/apr252000/reviewarticles.pdf
mic.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/full/156/3/609
www.wikipedia.comation_degraded_lands.html
www.informaworld.com/index/713703247.pdf
www.ias.ac.in/currsci/apr252000/reviewarticles.pdf