issues and conveniences of bioremediation
Ethical Issues
Many people believe that all living things are equal, regardless of size, intelligence or strength. They also believe that all living things were put on this earth for a reason and they shouldn't be modify by humans, whether it's an elephant or a microorganism. If humans change them genetically, these people believe that they are unbalancing the circle of life and their environments.
Advantages of Bioremediation
Bioremediation is a natural process
One of bioremediation's advantages is that it's natural process. There aren't any harmful chemicals involved, which means the microbes can't harm anyone or anything except for the pollutants that it's degrading. Using bioremediation has no direct negative effect environmentally. There are no consequences to using it properly; it's natural to the environment.
It's cost effective
Bio remediation isn't too expensive to use, considering what it does. It is considered "worth it". It is an affordable method which many countries continue to use. It costs about $50 (American) per cubic metre of contaminated water. Although this may seems a lot to ordinary people, the government has lots of money and can afford it.
Disadvantages
It's a long process
Bio remediation may be effective at removing pollutants, but it takes a very long time. A single cleaning process can take up to several months or even years. By the time one bioremediation process is done, many more areas could be contaminated.
It's degrading capabilities change seasonally
The microbes used in bioremediation's ability to degrade pollutants can change due to the season. It is most effective in the summer, when there is hot weather. As the temperature goes down, so does it's performance. This may cause bioremediation to be fairly ineffective in colder regions of the world.
Statistics
Several statistics have been found that support the success of bioremediation
According to (Adrett 1997) who studied different microbial cultures in Alaska. After 28 days 35% of the oil was degraded by microorganisms.
In a study by (Ahn 1999) The results in oil research from where they added microbes to polluted areas, after several months, showed 80% of the oil was degraded.
Many people believe that all living things are equal, regardless of size, intelligence or strength. They also believe that all living things were put on this earth for a reason and they shouldn't be modify by humans, whether it's an elephant or a microorganism. If humans change them genetically, these people believe that they are unbalancing the circle of life and their environments.
Advantages of Bioremediation
Bioremediation is a natural process
One of bioremediation's advantages is that it's natural process. There aren't any harmful chemicals involved, which means the microbes can't harm anyone or anything except for the pollutants that it's degrading. Using bioremediation has no direct negative effect environmentally. There are no consequences to using it properly; it's natural to the environment.
It's cost effective
Bio remediation isn't too expensive to use, considering what it does. It is considered "worth it". It is an affordable method which many countries continue to use. It costs about $50 (American) per cubic metre of contaminated water. Although this may seems a lot to ordinary people, the government has lots of money and can afford it.
Disadvantages
It's a long process
Bio remediation may be effective at removing pollutants, but it takes a very long time. A single cleaning process can take up to several months or even years. By the time one bioremediation process is done, many more areas could be contaminated.
It's degrading capabilities change seasonally
The microbes used in bioremediation's ability to degrade pollutants can change due to the season. It is most effective in the summer, when there is hot weather. As the temperature goes down, so does it's performance. This may cause bioremediation to be fairly ineffective in colder regions of the world.
Statistics
Several statistics have been found that support the success of bioremediation
According to (Adrett 1997) who studied different microbial cultures in Alaska. After 28 days 35% of the oil was degraded by microorganisms.
In a study by (Ahn 1999) The results in oil research from where they added microbes to polluted areas, after several months, showed 80% of the oil was degraded.