Role of Microorganisms in Bioremediation

Bioremediation involves the use of natural microorganisms for the purpose of degrading numerous types of industrial and environmental waste. Microorganisms require carbon, nutrients, and energy to live and multiply as all living organisms do. In order to obtain energy, such microorganisms break down organic pollutants into simpler organic compounds like carbon, salts, water, and similar harmless products. This approach of degrading contaminants using microorganisms has proved much beneficial and has been proven to be cost-effective and efficient. There are a lot of naturally occurring microorganisms that have been reported essential in the degradation of organic pollutants. Different industries use different types of bioremediation methods. Specific environmental conditions may be required for optimal functioning of microbes e.g., pH, temperature, humidity, etc. Bioremediation has been proven as an environment-friendly and cost-effective approach to deal with industrial contaminants. Descriptive information of microbes involved in bioremediation has been explained in this review.