Book Review: Advances in Biodegradation and Bioremediation of Industrial Waste

This book covers broader aspect of bioremediation and biodegradation of environmental pollutants. The pollution due to industrialization is a global challenge for the sustainable development of human beings. Environmental pollutants may be organic or inorganic, like and many of them may cause various diseases in human beings and animals. After the green revolution, the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for enhancing agricultural productivity has destroyed the soil fertility and health as well as microbial flora and fauna. The industrial waste and sewage contain hazardous organic and inorganic chemicals comprising heavy metals, salts and extreme pH. Long term cumulative effects of heavy metals in the environment are detrimental to human health. The degradation and bioremediation of industrial wastes are a challenging task because there is no reliable technology till date which is sustainable in terms of complete removal of these pollutants. Ultimately, diverse groups of microorganism that are already present in the nature may provide solution for the degradation and bioremediation of toxic industrial wastes. Microorganisms are being used for the bioremediation and transformation of pollutants from long times (Okpokwasili, 2007). Bioremediation involves the application of microbes to detoxify and degrade environmental pollutants. Microbes have various mechanisms for removing heavy metals from contaminated environments, such as adsorption to cell surfaces, complexation of exopolysaccharides, intracellular accumulation, biosynthesis of metallothionins and other proteins that trap metals and transform them to volatile compounds (Sharma et al., 2013). Recently, research is being focused in the development of genetically modified microbes or consortia for the detoxification of environmental pollutants. The book consists of 14 chapters covering the available advanced knowledge in biodegradation and bioremediation of various environmental pollutants, which are a real challenge to environmental researchers in the current scenario. The 1st, 12th, and 14th chapters highlight recent advances in phytoremediation and the role of the bacterial ecology of the rhizosphere of wetland plants for bioremediation of complex industrial wastewater. Some plant species have the inherent capacity to uptake and accumulate the heavy metals whereas other species help in biodegradation and biotransformation of toxic pollutants to nontoxic form of pollutants for environmental management. The phytoremediation of heavy metals is broadly discussed in terms of plant mechanisms for removing theses pollutants from soils and wastewaters. The 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 10th chapters highlight the microbial degradation and bioremediation of heavy metals,