Bioremedial Efficacy of Nostoc Carneum Agardh in Industrial Effluents Treatment

Bioremediation is a technology of using microorganisms to reduce, eliminate or transformation of contaminants to benign products present in soils, sediments, water and air. It is not a new technology; it has been practiced by humankind since the beginning of recorded history [1]. Evidence of kitchen middens and compost piles data back to 6000BC and the more modern use of bioremediation began over 100 years ago with the opening of the first biological sewage treatment plant in Sussex UK in 1891. However the word “Bioremediation” is fairly new. Its first appearance in peer revised scientific literature was in 1987 [2]. Bioremediation is an alternative to traditional remediation technologies such as land filling or incineration. It works by either transforming or degrading contaminants to non hazardous or less hazardous chemicals, respectively known as Biotransformation and Biodegradation [3]. Although metals and radio nuclides cannot be biodegraded but microorganisms can interact with these contaminants and transform them into another state or increasing their mobility so that they can more easily be flushed from the environment. In some cases metal and radio nuclides are precipitated out leading to their immobilization.