Bioremediation: a tool for cleaning polluted environments (original) (raw)

Modern science has brought about hitherto unimagined progress and developments in human civilization. Although it is desirable, this progress is gradually making the world inhospitable due to adulteration and pollution of the environment by numerous products and byproducts of civilization. The key pollutants include heavy metals, chemical wastes and oil spills, among others. Scientists are aware of the impending danger, and they are making efforts to find ways of mitigating the environmental pollution, while keeping pace with civilization. Use of microbial resources, coupled to other modern techniques is one of the most promising and economical strategies for removing environmental pollutants. This paper presents a review of the various approaches to bioremediation, their advantages and disadvantages and potential areas of application.