Chapter 21 - Microbial biofilms for the remediation of contaminated water

Abstract

Due to fast industrialization and large-scale human activities, level of pollution in water and soil is continuously increasing at a rapid rate, which is a major global concern. Though many remediation techniques are currently available, the use of microbes has many advantages like cost effectiveness, few or no by-products, reusability, and many more. Microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature and able rapidly multiply, highly diverse, and can use many noxious elements as their nutrient source. Microbes’ biofilms have been broadly applied in both in situ and ex situ conditions for the contaminant management. Contaminations resulting from release of both inorganic and inorganic pollutants in environment can be minimized using suitable remedial measures, particularly where microorganisms can serve as a better alternative for remediation of contaminants. In this chapter, different development stages of microbial biofilm formation, genetics, and the role of microbial biofilms in remediation of contaminated water have been discussed.