Bioremediation: Cleaning Toxic Waste with a Little Help from Nature
Edition: 2
Copyright: 2024
Pages: 218
Edition: 2
Copyright: 2024
Pages: 180
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Have you ever thought about what happens to all of the toxic wastes humans generate? Where do these toxins go in the environment once they have been dumped somewhere? In many cases, these wastes accumulate in specific places within natural environments, including plants, animals, soils, and in water. If left in the environment, it is possible that some of those toxins might make their way into food or water used by humans. However, through studies of specific wastes that were generated, in some cases centuries ago, we have discovered that many toxins can be degraded by natural means if given adequate conditions and time. Through detailed studies of these cases of natural degradation of toxins, the scientific field now called Bioremediation was initiated. Today, through studies of both natural biodegradation of toxins, and lab-based studies of new mechanisms using microorganisms or plants, Bioremediation processes have become major tools used to clean up toxic wastes in many different environments. This book seeks to describe the field of Bioremediation from its earliest applications up to the use of the most modern tools that are used to clean up many different types of toxic wastes. All of these developments are based on studies of natural processes to clean wastes. All we needed was a little help from nature to figure this out.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: History of Bioremediation
Chapter 3: The Biology of Bioremediation
Chapter 4: Enzymes of Bioremediation
Chapter 5: Applied Bioremediation of Toxic Organic Compounds in Aquatic Ecosystems
Chapter 6: Applied Bioremediation of Inorganic Acids and Metals in Aquatic Ecosystems
Chapter 7: Applied Bioremediation of Soils
Chapter 8: Future Applications in Bioremediation, Hope for Sustainability
Dr. Spratt’s training and professional experience fall mostly in the field of Microbial Ecology. He has studied transformations of various elements (e.g., C, N, S, Fe, Mn) by microorganisms in forest soils and wetland sediments, ranging from tropical mangrove swamps to peat bogs. Recently, he shifted the focus of his research to studies of pathogenic bacteria found in clinical environments. His research interest in these clinical settings is microbial ecology of the human, built, rather than natural environment. He still conducts research in natural settings, but through partnerships with other researchers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and with local physicians Dr. Spratt helped establish a UTC research group called the Clinical Infectious Disease Control (CIDC) group in 2015. The CIDC currently has grant support for multiple research projects. Ultimately, the CIDC hopes to focus study on potential links between pathogens present in the clinical environment with healthcare associated infections (HAIs), providing clinic managers with options to control those pathogens and reduce HAIs.
He has published his biogeochemical research in national and international journals (e.g., Applied and Environmental Microbiology; Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science; Limnology and Oceanography). The CIDC has published five articles in nationally recognized journals, and currently have three manuscripts in preparation. The CIDC has also written three articles for blogs associated with professional societies.
Dr. Spratt has taught university courses ranging from freshmen introductory biology, to graduate courses in microbial physiology. He routinely teaches pre-med students their basic microbiology course, as well as their introduction to immunology. He has taught two graduate courses, microbial ecology, and bioremediation for over 20 years. In 2022 he published a textbook based on his bioremediation course (Bioremediation: Cleaning toxic wastes with a little help from nature. KendallHunt, ISBN: 979-8-7657-0772-2). He has mentored 20 graduate students through UTC's MS in Environmental Science since the program's inception in 1997.
Specialties: Prokaryotic biology, microbial ecology, clinical microbiology, undergraduate education, environmental education
Have you ever thought about what happens to all of the toxic wastes humans generate? Where do these toxins go in the environment once they have been dumped somewhere? In many cases, these wastes accumulate in specific places within natural environments, including plants, animals, soils, and in water. If left in the environment, it is possible that some of those toxins might make their way into food or water used by humans. However, through studies of specific wastes that were generated, in some cases centuries ago, we have discovered that many toxins can be degraded by natural means if given adequate conditions and time. Through detailed studies of these cases of natural degradation of toxins, the scientific field now called Bioremediation was initiated. Today, through studies of both natural biodegradation of toxins, and lab-based studies of new mechanisms using microorganisms or plants, Bioremediation processes have become major tools used to clean up toxic wastes in many different environments. This book seeks to describe the field of Bioremediation from its earliest applications up to the use of the most modern tools that are used to clean up many different types of toxic wastes. All of these developments are based on studies of natural processes to clean wastes. All we needed was a little help from nature to figure this out.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: History of Bioremediation
Chapter 3: The Biology of Bioremediation
Chapter 4: Enzymes of Bioremediation
Chapter 5: Applied Bioremediation of Toxic Organic Compounds in Aquatic Ecosystems
Chapter 6: Applied Bioremediation of Inorganic Acids and Metals in Aquatic Ecosystems
Chapter 7: Applied Bioremediation of Soils
Chapter 8: Future Applications in Bioremediation, Hope for Sustainability
Dr. Spratt’s training and professional experience fall mostly in the field of Microbial Ecology. He has studied transformations of various elements (e.g., C, N, S, Fe, Mn) by microorganisms in forest soils and wetland sediments, ranging from tropical mangrove swamps to peat bogs. Recently, he shifted the focus of his research to studies of pathogenic bacteria found in clinical environments. His research interest in these clinical settings is microbial ecology of the human, built, rather than natural environment. He still conducts research in natural settings, but through partnerships with other researchers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and with local physicians Dr. Spratt helped establish a UTC research group called the Clinical Infectious Disease Control (CIDC) group in 2015. The CIDC currently has grant support for multiple research projects. Ultimately, the CIDC hopes to focus study on potential links between pathogens present in the clinical environment with healthcare associated infections (HAIs), providing clinic managers with options to control those pathogens and reduce HAIs.
He has published his biogeochemical research in national and international journals (e.g., Applied and Environmental Microbiology; Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science; Limnology and Oceanography). The CIDC has published five articles in nationally recognized journals, and currently have three manuscripts in preparation. The CIDC has also written three articles for blogs associated with professional societies.
Dr. Spratt has taught university courses ranging from freshmen introductory biology, to graduate courses in microbial physiology. He routinely teaches pre-med students their basic microbiology course, as well as their introduction to immunology. He has taught two graduate courses, microbial ecology, and bioremediation for over 20 years. In 2022 he published a textbook based on his bioremediation course (Bioremediation: Cleaning toxic wastes with a little help from nature. KendallHunt, ISBN: 979-8-7657-0772-2). He has mentored 20 graduate students through UTC's MS in Environmental Science since the program's inception in 1997.
Specialties: Prokaryotic biology, microbial ecology, clinical microbiology, undergraduate education, environmental education