Nanobiotechnology Approach for the Remediation of Environmental Hazards Generated from Industrial Waste

Various environmental hazards occurring in present days are the results of population explosion, industrial pollution, unsafe agricultural practices, and several miscellaneous reasons. Hence, remediation process becomes very crucial in limiting the pollution. The process of treatment of contaminated environmental media, i.e., soil and water, in order to remove the toxicants present in it is called as “remediation/environmental remediation.” “Bioremediation” is a process of swabbing contaminated media with biological agents/microbes or naturally extracted chemicals. Bioremediation depending on site of application is further categorized into ex situ bioremediation, in situ bioremediation, phytoremediation, and permeable reactive barrier (PRB). However, if the percentage of contaminant is higher in the media, microbes used for bioremediation will get digested by toxicants/contaminants resulting in the ineffectiveness to remove the bacteria. While the usage of nanoparticles in bioremediation process is one of the key factors for reducing the limitations of this technique, the combination/addition of nanoparticles along with biological agents and applying on the contaminated media can give better results than individual bioremediation techniques. Nanoparticles due to their specific physical and chemical properties possess high reactivity with contaminated area. Nanomaterials are used in different forms in bioremediation process like nanoiron, nanofibers, nanorods, nanotubes, nanoribbons, nanocomposites, nanoporous materials, nanofoam, and nanocrystalline materials. Due to the powerful potential executed by the combination of nanoparticles and biological agents in bioremediation, their usage in future gets widened.