Application of Biofilm in Soil and Groundwater Remediation

Biofilms form and grow in almost every possible environment on Earth. Given this, what impact do they have on the Earth? Can we use them for beneficial purposes?

Biofilms are a natural and important part of our world.
Biofilms are found almost everywhere on Earth, including in extreme environments.
Biofilms are an integral part of the human body.
Biofilms can be quite harmful to human health.
Biofilms cause a variety of problems and costs to the industry.
Biofilms have beneficial uses as well as harmful effects.

Application of Biofilm in Soil and Groundwater Remediation

Figure 1. Soil and Groundwater Remediation.
(P. Dirckx, Center for Biofilm Engineering,
Montana State University, Bozeman)

One of the less obvious beneficial applications of biofilms is cleaning up oil and gasoline spills. Certain bacteria will eat oil and gasoline. Oil is produced for years from decaying vegetation, so it is an organic compound. We don't recommend that you vacuum up any spilled oil or gasoline, but the fact that some naturally occurring bacteria in the soil like the stuff has led to a new idea: bioremediation. It's a term that refers to the engineering of biofilms that can be introduced into an oil or gasoline spill area to help clean up the mess, all using natural, harmless means. In fact, bioremediation using biofilms has become the technique of choice for cleaning up groundwater and soil at many sites contaminated with hazardous waste.

Advantages of Biofilm in Soil and Groundwater Remediation

Reduction in contaminant concentrations and masses of many subsurface contaminants (e.g., petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated organics)
beneficial morphological changes in bacteria in biofilms that allow them to deal with other contaminants, such as heavy metals (e.g., mercury)

In other words, bioremediation is the professional way to go. How to make it really work requires an understanding of biofilm processes and engineering systems to introduce biofilms into contaminated ground and provide the necessary environment below the surface to encourage biofilms to function (as shown in the figure above).

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For research use only, not intended for any clinical use.

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