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This is being used beneficially at some superfund sites- they basically wait for some natural microbe to emerge that neutralizes or otherwise treats the prevail
by beerandt 5y ago
This is being used beneficially at some superfund sites- they basically wait for some natural microbe to emerge that neutralizes or otherwise treats the prevailing contaminant, sample it, figure out how to maximize it's metabolism, then devise a way to assist the in situ conditions to become ideal. Maybe some wells, pumps, plants, or chemicals are installed/introduced, and then it's just a monitoring expense.
- blingscramble 5y agoThis is an approach I have seen first hand in my professional life. We have isolated multiple strains of beneficial microbes from contaminated sites (primarily hydrocarbons) for use in remediation efforts. These microbes are very capable and have abilities beyond say the degradation of benzene…for instance they provide nitrogen fixation or phosphate solubilization or other plant promoting activities which allows us to use the same isolates in agriculture to promote a more sustainable production system. I believe microbes play and will continue to play a fundamental role as we find the balance between lowering the impact of commercial agriculture while ensuring the agronomics of said production.