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Biotechnology and Hazardous Waste Treatment
Author(s) -
Stroo Hans F.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1992.00472425002100020003x
Subject(s) - hazardous waste , engineering , waste management , speculation , biochemical engineering , microbiology and biotechnology , environmental science , risk analysis (engineering) , business , biology , finance
Despite considerable speculation and research on the potential for biotechnology to improve the treatment of hazardous wastes, little progress has been made to date in developing commercially available products and processes. This paper examines the current state of the art and the progress to date, as well as the barriers to biotechnological advances in hazardous waste treatment. The potential applications of biotechnology are also discussed, in terms of the contaminated matrix, the type of reactor technology used and the types of compounds present. The most promising areas for technology development efforts are identified, as well as the critical issues which must be addressed in moving from laboratory‐scale testing to the development of commercially‐viable technologies.