Applied Microbial Ecology and Bioremediation
16
Microorganisms as Major Actors of Pollution Elimination
in the Environment
Jean-Claude Bertrand, Pierre Doumenq, Re ´my Guyoneaud, Benoit Marrot,
Fabrice Martin-Laurent, Robert Matheron, Philippe Moulin, and Guy Soulas
Abstract
The large diversity of metabolic capacities and the high genetic plasticity of
microorganisms allow them to degrade virtually all organic compounds of natural or
anthropogenic (xenobiotics) origin including those that are sources of environmental
pollution. Thus microorganisms are major actors to eliminate or alleviate pollutions in
the environment. The natural attenuation processes due to microbial activities (biodegradation and/or biotransformation) as well as the possibilities of using microorganisms in
preventive treatments and bioremediation – biostimulation, bioaugmentation, rhizostimulation, bioleaching, and bioimmobilization – are presented. The main methods for
microbial treatment of pollution, the chemical structure and the origin of the major
pollutants, as well as the mechanisms of degradation by microorganisms – on the basis
of physiological, biochemical, and genetic approaches – are described. Examples of
treatments are presented for urban wastewater (activated sludge, lagoons, and planted
beds), solid wastes (aerobic treatment or composting, anaerobic treatment and
methanization, discharges), gaseous effluents, pesticides, polychlorobiphenyls, and finally
hydrocarbons and petroleum products in the marine environment.
Keywords
Bioaugmentation Biodegradation Bioimmobilization Bioleaching Bioremediation
Biostimulation Hydrocarbons Pesticides Petroleum Pollutants Polychlorobiphenyls
Rhizostimulation Solid wastes treatments Wastewater treatments Xenobiotics
J.-C. Bertrand* (*)
Institut Me ´diterrane ´en d’Oce ´anologie (MIO), UM 110, CNRS 7294
IRD 235, Universite ´ de Toulon, Aix-Marseille Universite ´,
Campus de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France
e-mail: jean-claude.bertrand@univ-amu.fr
P. Doumenq
Laboratoire de Chimie de l’Environnement, Aix-Marseille Universite ´,
FRE CNRS LCE 3416, Batiment Villemin, Europo ˆle Environnement,
13545 Aix-en-Provence Cedex, France
R. Guyoneaud
Institut des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-chimie pour
l’Environnement et les Mate ´riaux (IPREM), UMR CNRS 5254,
Universite ´ de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, B.P. 1155, 64013 Pau Cedex,
France
B. Marrot P. Moulin
Laboratoire de Me ´canique, Mode ´lisation et Proce ´de ´s Propres,
Aix-Marseille Universite ´, M2P2-UMR 6181, Europole de l’Arbois,
BP 80, 13545 Aix en Provence Cedex, France
F. Martin-Laurent
Laboratoire Microbiologie du Sol et de l’Environnement, INRA,
UMR 1347 Agroe ´cologie, 17 rue Sully, BP 86510, 21065 Dijon Cedex,
France
R. Matheron
Institut Me ´diterrane ´en de Biodiversite ´ et d’Ecologie marine et
continentale (IMBE), UMR-CNRS-IRD 7263, Aix-Marseille
Universite ´, 13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France
G. Soulas
Œnologie INRA, 33405 Talence Cedex, France
* Chapter Coordinator
J.-C. Bertrand et al. (eds.), Environmental Microbiology: Fundamentals and Applications: Microbial Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9118-2_16, # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
659
16
Microorganisms as Major Actors of Pollution Elimination
in the Environment
Jean-Claude Bertrand, Pierre Doumenq, Re ´my Guyoneaud, Benoit Marrot,
Fabrice Martin-Laurent, Robert Matheron, Philippe Moulin, and Guy Soulas
Abstract
The large diversity of metabolic capacities and the high genetic plasticity of
microorganisms allow them to degrade virtually all organic compounds of natural or
anthropogenic (xenobiotics) origin including those that are sources of environmental
pollution. Thus microorganisms are major actors to eliminate or alleviate pollutions in
the environment. The natural attenuation processes due to microbial activities (biodegradation and/or biotransformation) as well as the possibilities of using microorganisms in
preventive treatments and bioremediation – biostimulation, bioaugmentation, rhizostimulation, bioleaching, and bioimmobilization – are presented. The main methods for
microbial treatment of pollution, the chemical structure and the origin of the major
pollutants, as well as the mechanisms of degradation by microorganisms – on the basis
of physiological, biochemical, and genetic approaches – are described. Examples of
treatments are presented for urban wastewater (activated sludge, lagoons, and planted
beds), solid wastes (aerobic treatment or composting, anaerobic treatment and
methanization, discharges), gaseous effluents, pesticides, polychlorobiphenyls, and finally
hydrocarbons and petroleum products in the marine environment.
Keywords
Bioaugmentation Biodegradation Bioimmobilization Bioleaching Bioremediation
Biostimulation Hydrocarbons Pesticides Petroleum Pollutants Polychlorobiphenyls
Rhizostimulation Solid wastes treatments Wastewater treatments Xenobiotics
J.-C. Bertrand* (*)
Institut Me ´diterrane ´en d’Oce ´anologie (MIO), UM 110, CNRS 7294
IRD 235, Universite ´ de Toulon, Aix-Marseille Universite ´,
Campus de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France
e-mail: jean-claude.bertrand@univ-amu.fr
P. Doumenq
Laboratoire de Chimie de l’Environnement, Aix-Marseille Universite ´,
FRE CNRS LCE 3416, Batiment Villemin, Europo ˆle Environnement,
13545 Aix-en-Provence Cedex, France
R. Guyoneaud
Institut des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-chimie pour
l’Environnement et les Mate ´riaux (IPREM), UMR CNRS 5254,
Universite ´ de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, B.P. 1155, 64013 Pau Cedex,
France
B. Marrot P. Moulin
Laboratoire de Me ´canique, Mode ´lisation et Proce ´de ´s Propres,
Aix-Marseille Universite ´, M2P2-UMR 6181, Europole de l’Arbois,
BP 80, 13545 Aix en Provence Cedex, France
F. Martin-Laurent
Laboratoire Microbiologie du Sol et de l’Environnement, INRA,
UMR 1347 Agroe ´cologie, 17 rue Sully, BP 86510, 21065 Dijon Cedex,
France
R. Matheron
Institut Me ´diterrane ´en de Biodiversite ´ et d’Ecologie marine et
continentale (IMBE), UMR-CNRS-IRD 7263, Aix-Marseille
Universite ´, 13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France
G. Soulas
Œnologie INRA, 33405 Talence Cedex, France
* Chapter Coordinator
J.-C. Bertrand et al. (eds.), Environmental Microbiology: Fundamentals and Applications: Microbial Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9118-2_16, # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
659