The emergence of new technologies like genetic engineering, and better knowledge of the agencies have allowed bacteria to produce medicines, improve crops and using microbes and plants to clean the environment. Currently the industry employs biotechnology areas as
Biopolymers
As is well known most of the objects we use in our daily lives are made of polymers, these are derived almost entirely from oil. These giant molecules are now a serious threat to nature, hence the current research focuses on the biodegradation and recycling of these products seems that we can not do without. At present, progress is being made in obtaining biodegradable polymers, as these are derived from plants, microorganisms and even some animals (such as spiders).
As we have seen things in this world have had their time, it takes more or less time to degrade one way or another. One way is biodegradation, which is when something is undone by living organisms (mainly bacteria).
The ability of some materials to return to the earth by the action of nature is what is called biodegradation. The term is related to ecology, waste management, and most of all when it comes to plastic, because they take hundreds of years to decompose.
In the process of biodegradation of some chemicals (organic waste, paper, etc.) can be used as food by microorganisms, that used to produce energy and to create other substances such as amino acids, new fabrics and new organisms. The organic material could be degraded aerobically, with oxygen (air), or anaerobically, without oxygen (somewhat buried). Today many things are made with biodegradable agents, as with detergents.
The biodegradable plastics made from corn starch or wheat are being made currently on an industrial scale and used, for example, waste bags. The degradation of these plastics require a period of six to twenty four months, underground or in water, according to the rate addition of starch. Now a company called Metabolix has developed a nickname Mirel biodegradable plastic.
The Mirel is degraded in the soil, the ocean and on land subject to flooding, so it can biodegrade almost anywhere. We had seen an invention of degradable plastics in salt water, but this Mirel is much better to break down anywhere
Similarly, plastics manufactured from compressed fiber rye or completely biodegradable plastic substitutes for derivatives oil. One of them, based on rye starch, is in the form of granular materials for food manufacturing.
Moreover, in the field agriculture, biodegradable materials also offer distinct advantages. Biodegradable materials, after being recycled, incinerated and compounds, byproducts such as water, carbon dioxide or methane, with the possible production of new biomass is not toxic to the environment. These materials are mixed with other elements can obtain fermentable compound fertilizers.
What we have to mention is that biotechnology helped in its first applications to clean the waste water followed by purification of air and waste gases using biofilters.
Biofilters have a matrix (material that supports and lets the air flow try) and microorganisms. These microorganisms cause pollution to be retained, stored or destroyed. The organic material acts as a catalyst on a reduced scale.
Living systems used to degrade the contamination can reproduce naturally. In addition, they are much cheaper and obviously have less impact on the environment than chemical based.
A biofilter uses moist organic materials to absorb and degrade odorous compounds. The material, cool and damp process air is injected through a grid of perforated pipe in a filter bed. The materials used for construction of biofilters are compost, peat, wood chips and bark, sometimes mixed with biologically inert materials such as gravel, to maintain adequate porosity and are maintained at adequate moisture for microbial growth occurs.
Biofiltration of gaseous effluents is defined as a biological process used to control or treatment of volatile organic and inorganic compounds present in the gas phase. In biofiltration, microorganisms are responsible for biological degradation of volatile pollutants contained in polluted air streams.
During the biofiltration process, the air passes through the pores of the filter material that supports growing bacteria. The degradation of pollutants occurs after transfer from air into a liquid medium where it is used as carbon and energy source (organic compounds) or as an energy source (inorganic compounds). Production involves the use of biomass and total or partial oxidation of the contaminant. Thus, biofiltration processes lead to complete decomposition of pollutants, creating hazardous products.
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