In non polluted areas of the ecosystem, micro organisms are constantly at work to break down harmful organic matter. When a pollutant is introduced to the environment, such as oil spills, sewage, and waste, some of the microorganisms that naturally break down organic material die. Others survive though, and continue to break down the matter.
For Bioremediation to be effective, the proper conditions must be present. Conditions like temperature, nutrients, and food must be present. Proper conditions allow the microbes introduced to grow and increase, leading to more contaminants being eaten. If conditions are not correct, the microbes will grow too slowly or even die.
There are two types of Bioremediation, ex-situ and in-situ. In-situ Bioremediation refers to the use of remediation to cleanup contaminated areas without having to remove any of the contaminated contents.
Process
Ex-situ remediation, on the other hand, is the opposite of in-situ Bioremediation. It refers to the use of Bioremediation to cleanup a contaminated area by extracting the contaminated site and treating it elsewhere. After the contaminated sample is treated, it is returned back to the contaminated area. Some of these methods include excavation of contaminated soil, the construction and use of biopiles, and recovery and treatment of contaminated groundwater. (P.1)
It would take a few months or even several years for the microbes introduced to contaminated sites to clean up a site. All of this depends on several factors, including how high the concentrations of the contaminants are, or how wide or deep the contaminated area is. (P.5)
