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Application of Microbes in Remediation of Hazardous Wastes: A Review

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Bioremediation: Applications for Environmental Protection and Management

Part of the book series: Energy, Environment, and Sustainability ((ENENSU))

Abstract

Currently, pollution control, environmental management, treatment and recycling of wastes have become critical issues. One of the major reasons behind the growing environmental pollution is illegal disposal of waste. Due to the toxicity of waste, establishing efficient and environmentally friendly method to degrade and detoxify these wastes represent an important research challenge. Various physiochemical methods are applied all over the world for solid waste management. The application of microbes to degrade waste is gaining attention due to its environmental and economic benefits. The present review deals with application of microbes in bioremediation of hazardous wastes. This review also outlines the various factors that limit the use of microbial waste bioremediation technologies. Moreover, the prospects of waste valorization for the production of biopolymers, biofuels, biocompost and industrial enzymes are also discussed in the review article.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere thanks to Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, for providing INSPIRE Faculty fellowship to Ghosh, P [DST/INSPIRE/04/2016/000362].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Moni Kumari & Indu Shekhar Thakur

  2. Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, 110016, India

    Pooja Ghosh

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  1. Moni Kumari
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  2. Pooja Ghosh
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  3. Indu Shekhar Thakur
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Correspondence to Indu Shekhar Thakur .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

    Sunita J. Varjani

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Avinash Kumar Agarwal

  3. Bioenergy and Energy Planning Research Group (BPE), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

    Edgard Gnansounou

  4. Department of Biotechnology, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    Baskar Gurunathan

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Kumari, M., Ghosh, P., Thakur, I.S. (2018). Application of Microbes in Remediation of Hazardous Wastes: A Review. In: Varjani, S., Agarwal, A., Gnansounou, E., Gurunathan, B. (eds) Bioremediation: Applications for Environmental Protection and Management. Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7485-1_11

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