Environmental Biotechnology

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Environmental Biotechnology
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Introduction

• Environmental biotechnology is the solving of
  environmental problems through the application of
  biotechnology.

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Why the need for environmental biotechnology?

• It is needed to
• eliminate the hazardous wastes produced by our
  other technologies.
• distinguish between similar species and ensure
  species are not at risk of extinction.
• create alternative energy sources (i.e. Biofuel).

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Current Areas of Research
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1) Molecular Ecology

• Using biological techniques (i.e. DNA
  fingerprinting) to better understand aspects of
  nature.
• This examines biodiversity of different
  populations to ensure they are not at risk of
  going extinct (cheetahs and polar bears
  currently).
• Could determine if a new species has emerged and
  also better map the evolutionary development of
  different families of animals.

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2) Bioremediation

• Bioremediation is the use of bacteria (or fungi)
  to clean up hazardous environmental wastes.
• The bacteria essentially turn the dangerous waste
  products into less hazardous, easy to dispose of,
  waste.
• Plants are also being tested in some areas to do
  this job (phytoremediation)

• http//www.waterlooenvironmentalbiotechnology.com/
  gallery.html

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2) Bioremediation

• In North America, bioremediation has been used to
  clean up Canadas DEW line sites in the arctic
  and has been used to clean up after oil spills
  off of Alaska.
• Currently, this science can engineer bacteria
  to break down hazardous waste right at the
  workplace to avoid transport and storage.

http//www.youtube.com/watch?vzkY6rTI5R1s
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3) Biosensors

• A biosensor uses a biological entity (i.e.
  bacteria) to monitor levels of certain chemicals
  OR uses chemicals to monitor levels of certain
  biological entities (i.e. pathogens).

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3) Biosensors

• Current uses of biosensors include
• Detecting levels of toxins in an ecosystem
• Detecting airborne pathogens (i.e. anthrax)
• Monitoring blood glucose levels (uses enzyme
  glucose oxidase to break blood glucose down)

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4) Biofuels

• A biofuel is a plant derived fuel that is deemed
  more environmentally friendly than current fuel
  sources as they all release less carbon dioxide
  into the atmosphere. Examples
• Ethanol from corn is placed in many gasoline
  varieties in North America.
• Biodiesel is fuel made from used cooking oil.
• Biogas is made from gases released by compost or
  a landfill.

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4) Biofuels

• The current project of many biofuel scientists is
  creating a self-sustaining biofuel cell that
  gives off no greenhouse gas emissions.
• Many different bacterial strains can produce lots
  of hydrogen under anaerobic conditions.
• This hydrogen can be used as a fuel source with
  the only waste product being water!
• This technology has not been perfected yet.