What is the Difference Between Biodegradation and Bioremediation

The main difference between biodegradation and bioremediation is that biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi, whereas bioremediation is the use of microorganisms to breakdown environmental pollutants.

Biodegradation and bioremediation are two processes of breaking down unwanted materials by the action of microorganisms. However, biodegradation is a natural process, while bioremediation is an artificially-induced process. 

Key Areas Covered 

1. What is Biodegradation
     – Definition, Process, Importance
2. What is Bioremediation
     – Definition, Process, Importance
3. What are the Similarities Between Biodegradation and Bioremediation
     – Outline of Common Features
4. What is the Difference Between Biodegradation and Bioremediation
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms 

Assimilation, Biodegradation, Biodeterioration, Biofragmentation, Bioremediation, Decomposition, Environmental Pollutants, Microorganisms

What is Biodegradation 

Biodegradation is the process of decay that naturally occurs in the environment due to bacterial and fungal action. Generally, these microorganisms serve as decomposers of the nutrient and soil. Most importantly, decomposition is the process of the nature replenishing ecosystems. Moreover, the large organic molecules are broken down into small organic molecules through enzymes. 

Figure 1: Biodegradation of Plastics

Furthermore, the three stages of biodegradation are biodeterioration, biofragmentation, and assimilation. Here, biodeterioration is the surface level degradation, modifying the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of the material by the exposure to abiotic factors. Biofragmentation is the lytic process which degrades polymers to produce oligomers and monomers. In this, based on the presence of oxygen, there are two types of biofragmentation: aerobic biofragmentation, which occurs in the presence of oxygen, and anaerobic biofragmentation, which occurs in the absence of oxygen. Moreover, aerobic biofragmentation produces carbon dioxide and water, while anaerobic biofragmentation produces methane. Finally, assimilation is the integration of resulting products of biofragmentation into microbial cells. 

What is Bioremediation 

Bioremediation is the process of using microorganisms to degrade environmental pollutants such as toxic wastes occur in soil, water, air, etc. Generally, either naturally-occurring or deliberately introduced microorganisms can undergo this process. However, it needs to alter the environmental conditions for the optimal growth of these microorganisms.

Figure 2: Bioremediation

Moreover, most of the bioremediation reactions progress through oxidation-reduction reactions. Generally, oxygen is added as the electron acceptor to stimulate the reaction while an organic substrate serves as the electron donor. Most of the times, the reduced pollutant is a hydrocarbon. Additionally, reducing oxidized pollutants include nitrate, perchlorate, oxidized metals, chlorinated solvents, explosives, and propellants. On the other hand, additional nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and pH buffers are added to provide optimal conditions to microorganisms. Furthermore, in bioaugmentation, specialized microbial cultures are added to enhance the microbial action. 

Similarities Between Biodegradation and Bioremediation 

• Biodegradation and bioremediation are two processes of breaking down organic materials using microbial action. 
• Here, microbes grow under optimal conditions. 

Difference Between Biodegradation and Bioremediation 

Definition 

Biodegradation refers to the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi while bioremediation refers to the use of either naturally occurring or deliberately introduced microorganisms to consume and break down environmental pollutants, to clean a polluted site. Thus, this is the main difference between biodegradation and bioremediation.

Type of Process 

While biodegradation is a natural process, bioremediation is an engineered process. 

Rate 

Also, another difference between biodegradation and bioremediation is that biodegradation is slow while bioremediation is fast. 

Importance 

Moreover, biodegradation is important for the decomposition of materials while bioremediation is important to clean out environmental pollutants mainly made by man. 

Conclusion 

Biodegradation is the natural process of breakdown of waste materials on the earth by the action of microorganisms. Mainly, bacteria and fungi undergo biodegradation. On the other hand, bioremediation is an engineered process in which natural or introduced microorganisms breakdown environmental pollutants. Here, the optimal conditions for microbial growth are provided. Therefore, biodegradation is a slow process while bioremediation is a fast process. In conclusion, the main difference between biodegradation and bioremediation is the type of breakdown of materials. 

References:

1. Kumar, Parul. “Biodegradation and Bioremediation (With Diagram).” Biology Discussion, 16 Oct. 2015, Available Here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Microbial biodegradation” By Polymersrock – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia   
2. “Biodegradation of Pollutants” By Timmer26 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia