Application of bioremediation techniques for the removal of agroindustrial pollutants ; Aplicación de técnicas de biorremediación para la eliminación de contaminantes agroindustriales

Globally, pollution caused by the industrial progress is triggering an increasing environmental and health concern. A rapid industrialization as example of developmental human activities has resulted in depletion of natural resources causing adverse impact in ecosystems and the degradation of the environment. Nowadays, there is an increasing interest about the effect of hazardous wastes generated from industrial processes, since these complex mixtures have been identified in soil-water environment as common contaminants. The presence of pollutants with a recalcitrant nature in the environment has promoted an intense research effort, with a direct impact on the development of more effective technologies for the remediation of contaminated industrial locations and effluents. These methods have been classified into three main categories, physical (volatilization, photolysis, adsorption, electroremediation, filtration), chemical (chemicaloxidation, photocatalysis, coagulation-flocculation) and biological (biosorption orbiodegradation), since they are generally regarded as having a good expected success due to a favourable social and economic context. The option to use the umbrella of microbial agents as a relevant aspect for the treatment of water and soil pollutants will permit their removal using the pathways designed by nature for the metabolism of living beings. To attain successful outcomes, it is essentiato bear in mind: i) the number and type of microorganisms used (bacteria or fungi), ii) nature and chemical structure of the pollutant and iii) the environmental conditions. The motivation inspiring this thesis is based on two basic pillars: to generate new knowledge and to be a win situation for both theoreticians and practitioners. Therefore, the exploration and exploitation of novel bacterial species with competitive biodegradation ability together with the implementation of a remediation process at bioreactor scale will be the functional axis of the present research work. ; A nivel mundial, la ...