ABSTRACT
Anthropogenic activities in the context of industrialization are producing a huge amount of pollutants, toxicants, and obnoxious compounds, resulting in the abuse of our ecosystem. These toxicants are turning our environment into a sink at an alarming rate, and if not controlled, they can cause eutrophication, desertification, water pollution, health effects, etc.; this, in turn, makes human existence on planet Earth difficult. To control the impact of these toxicants, techno-economically viable processes that are environmental friendly have to be adopted. Physicochemical methods that are being used to control the pollutant toxicity are inherently problematic and costly and result in an extremely concentrated sludge that is difficult to dispose. Among the various green technologies that are being developed, bioremediation is a cheap, efficient, side effect–free process by which our ecosystem can be decontaminated, leaving behind a clean environment. This chapter comprises the following topics: a brief introduction to bioremediation, some types of bioprocesses, and details of granular and phototrophic biomass. Toxic waste details (1) radioactive waste, (2) explosive wastes, and their treatment using various types of biomass, namely, (1) bacteria, (2) algae, (3) fungi, and (4) phototrophic granules. This chapter is mainly tailored for the bioremediation of radioactive waste, explosives, and its by-products. Finally, it is concluded with a note on efficient management of toxic wastes.
