a case study on applied environmental biotechnology

Environmental biotechnology in India: prospects and case studies

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• PMID: 24415374
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00419457

The emergence and acceptance of the concept of sustainable development warrants that the scope of environmental biotechnology be enlarged to address issues like environmental monitoring, restoration of environmental quality, resource/residue/waste-recovery/utilization/treatment, and substitution of the non-renewable resource base with renewable resources. This paper delineates the current and prospective applications in these sub-areas of environmental biotechnology, and documents case studies on environmental monitoring (enteric viruses), restoration of environmental quality (oil spill remediation), resource recovery (hydrocarbon recovery from oily sludges, biosurfactants from distillery spentwash, desulphurization of coal & sour gases), and substitution of non-renewable resources with renewables (conversion of lignocellulisics into value added chemicals).

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Environmental sustainability and biotechnology: opportunities and challenges

• Published: 14 June 2024
• Volume 7 , pages 115–119, ( 2024 )

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• Naveen Kumar Arora 1 &
• Tahmish Fatima 1  

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The history of life on earth dates back to 3.7 billion years old. For over 80% of Earth’s history the atmosphere and the supracrustal sections have shown changes, re-circulations and maintenances for the inception of life. Changes in terrestrial ecosystems have always been associated with atmospheric compositions, for instance, plant evolution after mid-Paleozoic (Ordovician–Devonian) modulated climate during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age and Cretaceous period giving rise to angiosperms (Dahl and Arens 2020 ). The fossils of rocks spanning 3 billion years ago, evinced drastic changes in carbon cycle about 400 million years ago, when plants started colonizing the Earth. Major changes were also reported in the chemistry of seawater indicating shift in global formation of clay- from oceans to lands Footnote 1 . Ever since then the climate system of earth has changed several times and played key role in the evolution of ecosystems. At present the ecosystems are at the brink of their capacity to fulfil the needs of the increasing population, escalating the threats of climate change, pollution, land degradation, social inequalities and global hunger. Due to uncontrolled human activities and demands, the over-consumption of natural resources is expected to be tripled by the end of 2050 Footnote 2 . The world has already lost ~ 40% of global land area in terms of productivity and quality with climate change acting as the main threat ( UNCCD 2022 ). Whilst the world is targeting the goals set by United Nations, popularly known as the sustainable development goals (SDGs), now is the time for everyone, be it a nation, society or individual, to understand their part in reducing the environmental risks by development of sustainable solutions and their implementation at grass root level.

Ever since the onset of industrialization and urbanization, humans have used chemicals for synthesis of various products for their daily comfort and use. However, the process correspondingly polluted the environment with these unwanted entities, some of which are recalcitrant and persist for long durations in the ecosystems. Plastics are the classical example of such man-made entities, which are highly persistent and are playing havoc in the ecosystems around the globe. Modernization of human civilization began with chemicals, but to avoid the end of our existence on planet Earth we need to switch to ecofriendly approaches and circular economy in order to utilize the huge amount of waste generated and reduce the burden on ecosystems both in terms of over-exploitation and pollution.

Biotechnological tools involve eco-friendly processes that integrate the chemistry of living organisms in order to develop sustainable products or methods for industrial production (in various sectors), energy sector (like biofuels), agriculture, biodegradation and ecosystem restoration, benefitting our day to day life without adding chemicals to the environment. The use of biotechnology in the production processes is gaining attention, as climate change and global warming have knocked the doors of each nation and the world is not in a position to further add chemicals to the environment. Environmental biotechnology is not a new term, it has been around for decades, however, newer technologies arising from modern microbiology and molecular biology utilizing latest omic-based or genetic engineering techniques has advanced the field with better solutions. The sector of synthetic biology, integrating engineering principles and computational approaches with advanced biological techniques, has resulted in various sustainable solutions including production of biofuels, enzymes, pharmaceuticals, biofertilizers, biopesticides, bioremediation of soil and water bodies, replacing non-renewable sources like fossil fuels with replenishable items and so on. Using the mechanisms of microbes, plants or other living entities, biotechnological processes address serious concerns of cleaning up the pollutants, specially bioremediation of spills, industrial wastes and other forms of pollution in soil, water and air.

In today’s era the focus of the industrial sector is to meet the demand of people even if it is at the expense of environmental sustainability. Therefore, innovations are required which are greener growth models and also foster development without compromising the quality and quantity of production. Biotechnology is the solution, which can underpin green growth and to a limit can reverse the harm done to various ecosystems by anthropogenic activities. Biotechnology is used for centuries, specially in fermentation processes even at domestic levels like processing of breads, yoghurts, cheese, wine and so on. However, in the present scenario, improvements have to be made through innovations as we are dealing with much serious issues of climate change, pollution, global warming, biodiversity threats and even survival of human race. There are two major regimes to promote the utility of biotechnology viz. environmental and industrial biotechnology. Environmental biotechnology involves the integration of biological entities, as such, modified/ engineered or processed, to protect and restore the quality of environment/ ecosystems. These processes are largely involved in remediation of land, air and water bodies, plus tackling harmful chemicals or provide green alternatives. For full-scale application of biotechnological process, it has to be first proven with organisms used, the chemical reactions taking place and mechanisms involved, which helps in designing prototype and scale up. Environmental biotechnological processes mainly involve application of specific microorganisms including bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, may be along with insects, plants, and enzymes to bio-chemically transform the products or intermediates, which are synthesized during industrial or other anthropogenic activities, in order to abate their toxicity in environment. Over the time of evolution, microorganisms have developed tremendous survival strategies through modification in their genetic make-up or advanced biochemical capabilities, aiding their survival under unfavorable conditions and inhabit the ecosystems where neither plants or animals can survive. This ability of microbes has to be exploited efficiently to restore the ecosystems which have become degraded to extreme levels. Bioremediation through microbes involves various mechanisms such as enzymatic oxidation, enzymatic reduction, bioaugementation, biostimuation, bioleaching, biosorption, bioaccumulation and precipitation. The global bioremediation market was estimated around $26.66 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach a value of approximately $56.55 billion by the end of 2028, with a CAGR of 7.72% during the period Footnote 3 . The practical application of bioremediation treating spills and anthropogenic compounds began few decades ago with biotreatment of petroleum hydrocarbons; the technique was reported much effective and budget friendly in comparison to physical and chemical methods. The success story of bioremediation increased its application for treatment of gas station and refinery spills. Plants/ microalgae and their biomasses are being used as sorbants for heavy metals by the involvement of of proteins like metallothioneins and metallothionein-like proteins (Balzano et al. 2020 ). Development of ‘superbugs’ has been a major achievement of genetic engineering, having the capability to degrade wide range of pollutants (Arora et al. 2018 ). In 1989, there was a huge oil spill of 11 million gallons near the Alaska coast, where 3.19 million barrels of oil spilled off in the Gulf of Mexico, popularly known as the “Alaska Oil Spill”. The spill was successfully managed by the process of bioremediation by involving two methods, bioaugmention and biostimulation utilizing oil degrading microbes. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency demonstrated that biodegradation by indigenous microflora along with addition of fertilizers led to changes in hydrocarbon composition and bulk oil weight per unit of beach material, and the rate was two-fold higher as compared to untreated control Footnote 4 . It is considered as one of the biggest initial success stories of bioremediation and paved the way for further commercialization of this low input biotechnology.

Landfarming is a form of bioremediation which involves application of indigenous soil microbes and beneficial soil microorganisms commonly addressed as plant growth promoting microorganisms (PGPM) to rejuvenate the degraded soil. At the beginning of Second World War, numerous pesticides, insecticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers were synthesized and applied to increase agricultural yields. This led to severe degradation of lands, however, the trend did not end and the world witnessed increased amount of pesticides application. Globally, the average quantity of pesticides increased from 1.55 kg·ha − 1 in 1990 to 2.63 kg·ha − 1 in 2018 (Raffa and Chiampo 2021 ) and resulted in degradation of agricultural lands. Biotechnological processes serve as an easy, budget friendly, less time taking, and permanent solutions to remediate and re-fertilize marginal lands without generation of secondary pollutants. Microbes belonging to genera Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Alcaligenes, Arthrobacter, Streptomyces, Staphylococcus, Daedaleadickinsii, Gloeophyllumtrabeum and many others are associated with more than 30% removal of pesticides (including DDT, chlorpyrifos and carbofuran) from soil and water (Giri et al. 2021 ). Apart from chemical stresses, lands are also degrading due to climate change induced heat and water stresses and soil salinization. In this context, bioengineering of rhizosphere using biotechnological processes and application of potent halophilic or thermophilic PGPM help in re-designing the rhizosphere for stress mitigation and increased crop yield (Arora et al. 2020 ). Klümper and Qaim ( 2014 ) reported that use of genetic engineering reduced the use of pesticides by 37% while increased the crop yield by 22% from 1995 to 2014. With the advancement of omic- based technologies, along with advancement in gene editing, several bio-agrochemicals including biofertilizers, biopesticides, bioinsecticides are being synthesized and applied to fields for bioremediation and increase of agriculture productivity in a sustainable manner. The market of biopesticides and biofertilizers was valued at $6,906.7 million in 2023, and is expected to reach $22,463.3 million by 2033, at a CAGR of 12.52% Footnote 5 .

Biotechnology has resulted in reduced use of pesticides by £790 million globally Footnote 6 . Newer techniques of RNA silencing in plant pathogens along with application of double stranded ribonucleic acids (dsRNAs)/ small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs) or spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS), technology termed as non-transformative RNAi technology are promising approaches that can be applied to increase agricultural productivity through protection against diseases (Székács et al. 2021 ). Further advances in the field of genetic engineering can be the future of agricultural sustainability.

Industrial biotechnology was recognized as a field only after growing interest in production of biofuels. Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy resources, their production processes environmentally unsafe and their use leads to high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Industrial biotechnology holds promising future in a bio-based economy society. Energy sectors focus on conversion of biomass mainly from plants, algae, by-products from agricultural processing, and municipal or domestic wastes by using bacteria or fungi, to green energy. Biofuels include alcohols, synfuel, biogas and bio-diesel. The choice of substrate for biofuel production decides the GHGs emission and production rate. For example, biomass energy from corn can increase carbon emission by 20%, while high cellulosic material can reduce the emission by 120% (Sims et al. 2010 ). In 2018, the world’s energy demand was 14 billion tons of oil equivalent (TOE), 80% of which were fulfilled by fossil fuels (Tropea 2022 ). This serious gap in the use of biofuels needs to be addressed and scientists are advancing the biofuel technology through optimum utilization of lignocellulosic biomass, which also does not compete with food and feed sector. Diversification of biomass to ensure ecological and economic stability of biofuel production; increase in the biochemical conversion through introduction of ‘designer molecules’ that can improve the economy of fuel and reduce the carbon emissions, are also ways to promote biofuel production (Liu et al. 2021 ). Second generation biofuels using non-edible biomass as substrate, such as agro or municipal wastes, are arising as sustainable solutions, which are more economical and less toxic. Advances are being made to optimize the fermentation process and improve the production of third generation biofuels from algal biomass and fourth generation from engineered cyanobacteria using modern molecular techniques (Malode et al. 2021 ). With recent developments the biofuel market reached ~ 120 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 and is expected to be ~ 175 billion U.S. dollars in 2030 Footnote 7 .

Plastic pollution is a major concern of present times, where production has drastically increased from 15 million metric tonnes in 1964 to 359 million metric tonnes in 2018, and is projected to increase by 2-folds in next 20 years (Narancic et al. 2020 ). Over 90% of plastics are produced from fossil fuels and the production consumes 4–8% of oil currently, which is expected to reach 20% by 2050 Footnote 8 . Bio-based and biodegradable plastics are coming up as sustainable solutions to replace non-biodegradable polymers. Monomers extracted or synthesized from biomass can be polymerized to biodegradable plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), cellulose, and starch. Currently, bioplastics account for 1% of the total plastics manufactured yearly, however, the market size is expected to increase from 96.6 billion U.S. dollars as of 2023, to 1,353.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2033 Footnote 9 . Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), a PHA polymer, is the most commonly used bioplastic with brittle and highly crystalline characteristic similar to that of polypropylene (synthetic plastic). Other bioplastics include polysaccharides developed using potatoes, corn, and rice for starch production; polypeptides using plant and animal proteins such as collagens; cellulose from trees and cotton; or PHA using genetically modified microorganisms (Rosenboom et al. 2022 ). Along with the replacement of non-biodegradable plastics in food and packaging industries, bioplastics can also be used in medical arena specifically for drug delivery systems, wound healing products and surgical implant devices. Biodegradable polymers can also be applied to aid several human body functions, such as embracing cells to create tissues, cell signaling, moderate the skin’s hydration and elasticity, lubrication of gastrointestinal tracts and protection from pathogens (Pattanashetti et al. 2017 ).

Climate change along with population explosion require fundamental changes in chemical and energy sectors to accelerate the production rate and reduce carbon footprint. One technology adopted by major chemical companies is biocatalysis, using natural or engineered microbial enzymes to ensure environmental sustainability. These microbial or natural enzymes addressed as bio-enzyme/ trash enzyme/ fruit enzymes aid in replacing the usage of chemical compounds in an affordable, healthy and sustainable manner. Bio-enzymes can be synthesized through fermentation by utilizing agri-wastes rich in sugars. Bio-enzymes include proteases, lipases, amylases, cellulases and many more. Microbes are the factories of enzymes including cellulases, hemicellulases, amylases, lipases, proteases, pectinases, inulinases, chitinases, laccases, glucose isomerases, each having industrial significance. Microbial enzymes have proved to be potential candidates in industrial sectors of food, feed, pharmaceutical, alcohol, biofuel, agriculture, textile, leather, sweeteners, flavors, bioremediation, solid waste management and even in medicinal field as bioenzyme based nanomedicides Footnote 10 . Cytochrome P450 are class of novel enzymes that are used to convert plant waste into sustainable and value-added products such as nylon, plastics, chemicals, and fuels, along with their role in bioremediation against various pollutants (Arora et al. 2018 ). Modern genetic tools and omic techniques are further increasing the spectrum of novel enzymes from both cultural and non-culturable microbes.

The field of environmental biotechnology is a large ‘black box’ that advances each day to fill the gaps and challenges posed by climate change. Biotechnology has paved its way in reducing environmental pollution and water wastage by growing meat without animals. This technology also reduces the usage of antibiotics and chemicals, which are otherwise rampantly used in rearing of cattle and poultry Footnote 11 . In order to mimic the natural flavors and replace chemicals in food industry, engineered microbes are now being used to synthesize flavoring agents. Methods are also being developed to replace construction materials, such as concrete with organic wastes or mushrooms to lower carbon footprint. Microbial fuel cells, microbial electrolysis cells, bioelectric wells and microbial desalination cells are future sustainable approaches for the remediation of contaminants. Several other such approaches will be utilized in near future to improve the efficiency and develop novel biotechnological technologies.

Although biotechnological processes have paved their way in various industrial sectors, yet there is a huge gap in their application as compared to synthetic/chemical regimes. For example, the negative reaction to genetically modified organisms by the public in some regions and lack of proper regulation policies have hindered the use of this green technology. Further, biotechnological processes are often human-controlled and in some cases they can affect the genetic diversity of plants, animals and microbes, such as in case of applying GMOs. Another environmental issue is that mass production of bioplastics and biofuels from plant sources can compete with feed and food sector. Biofuel production can lead to deforestation and soaring food prices. Therefore, before the application of technology there has to be an intensive study about its long term effect on biodiversity, food security and human health or environment as whole.

The concept of circular economy is gaining attention in various sectors including academic, policy, and industry and has been linked with attaining targets of SDGs. Biotechnological processes are essential to achieve the circular economy by maximizing the utilization of ever-increasing wastes generated by humans and simultaneously control over-exploitation. Bio-economy has to be a major component of circular economy which results in low carbon footprints, and promote environmental sustainability. It is important to replace “Gross Domestic Product (GDP)” with “Gross Sustainable Product (GSP)” and biotechnology dominated circular economy can play a very important role to achieve this (Arora and Mishra 2019 ).

The SDGs outline 17 inter-related targets that require immediate action to protect the habitability of earth and it’s biodiversity. Biotechnology can have important role in achieving targets of SDGs, including zero hunger, good health and well-being, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable and green industry, innovation and infrastructure, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land and partnerships for the goals. The remaining goals will of course be indirectly impacted in a positive manner. Thus, the future and sustainability of human race on earth is very much dependent on further use and refinement of green biotechnological approaches.

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Arora, N.K., Fatima, T. Environmental sustainability and biotechnology: opportunities and challenges. Environmental Sustainability 7 , 115–119 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42398-024-00317-9

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Published : 14 June 2024

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s42398-024-00317-9

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Applied Environmental Biotechnology

Applied Environmental Biotechnology（AEB） is a multi-disciplinary natural science open-access journal. The purpose of this journal is to understand the latest advances, innovations, and technologies of applied environmental biotechnology, and by doing so, to promote active communication and collaborations among environmental biotechnology scientists around the world.

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