Clean It Up!
How can bioredmiation clean up oil spills?Copyright Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lousiana_Oil_Spill.jpg
Students learn about a special branch of engineering called bioremediation, which is the use of living organisms to aid in the clean-up of pollutant spills. Students learn all about bioremediation and see examples of its importance. In the associated activity, students conduct an experiment and see bioremediation in action!
Bioremediation is a part of the environmental engineering field. It is a commonly-used practice that takes advantage of a natural process — living organisms. By using the pollutant as a food source, engineers can identify exactly which microorganism can help to break down a certain pollutant.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Define bioremediation.
- Explain why bioremediation is a useful process for cleaning up pollutants.