About SBI Research: The Subsurface Biosphere and Engineered Environmental Processes
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Engineered Environmental Processes
Engineered environmental processes play a major role in maintaining clean water,
air, soil, and sediments in our state, as well as cleaning up from the legacy
of poor environmental practices. Organic chemicals poured or spread on the ground
and now in the subsurface have left a legacy of contaminated sites that pose
risk to human health and the environment. Examples include pesticides, herbicides,
insecticides, cleaning agents and degreasers, and additives to gasoline. Some
of these compounds move rapidly through the subsurface, resulting in the contamination
of our groundwater resources. Examples of affected areas relevant to Oregon
are the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford site, the Umatilla Weapons Depot,
and the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. Subsurface microorganisms play a dominant
role in the transformation and the breakdown of these organic compounds, both
under natural “intrinsic” conditions as well as under engineered
conditions of bioremediation. The potential for microbial transformations to
help clean-up contaminated sites has been the subjected of several National
Research Council studies: Alternatives for Groundwater Cleanup (1994), Innovations
in Groundwater and Soil Cleanup: From Concept to Commercialization, and Groundwater
and Soil Cleanup (1997), and Groundwater and Soil Cleanup Improving Management
of Persistent Contaminant (1999).
Bioremediation
The use of microorganisms is likely to save billions of dollars in the cost
of cleaning up subsurface contamination. Subsurface microorganisms play a key
role in the breakdown of toxic compounds to form non-toxic products. The ability
of treating subsurface contamination in-situ using subsurface microorganisms,
instead of bringing them to the surface for treatment and disposal can provide
a huge cost savings, as well being a more sustainable way of dealing with these
problems.
Nanotechnology
Discoveries related to nanotechnology in the 21st Century are going to play
an important role in economic growth in Oregon. Nanotechnology means the building
of devices by manipulation or placement of atoms and molecules. Subsurface microorganisms
can be considered biochemical factories with the ability to create mineral particles
at the nano scale. Nanoparticles may have distinct advantages over particles
produced by physical and chemical methods because biologically produced nanoparticles
are more uniform in size and shape, and can have specific physical and chemical
properties based on environmental and nutrient growth conditions. Three examples
of related research areas are:
- The development of nanoparticles as catalysts for the transformation of
environmental pollutants
- The fabrication of nanoporous materials for capturing environmental pollutants
or the enrichments of valuable chemical products, such as drugs.
- The development of biosensors, using DNA chips and other devices that use
gene expression to monitor exposure to environmental contaminants or toxins
introduced to the environment.
Read more about OSU research in this area:
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