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Biological waste treatment. What future for (new) biotechnologies? Expert opinion

Summary

The experts consulted first gave their opinion by filling in a questionnaire drawn up by the coordinator, covering three areas:
- fields and application techniques,
- fields and techniques of application,
- limitations,
- research needs.

The experts' answers to the questionnaire were compiled by the coordinator, then discussed, amended and completed at a meeting held at INSA on 23 May, and finally checked and completed by the experts in an exchange of emails during the month of June. This document summarises the experts' opinions at the end of the entire procedure. The experts' opinion on the use of biotechnologies to treat polluted waste, soil and sediment is generally positive, despite a number of physico-chemical, biological, technological and economic limitations that generally need to be examined on a case-by-case basis. The experts feel that the new biotechnologies have great potential, whether in:
- in new fields of application (metallic pollutants, xenobiotic organic pollutants),
- in the emergence of new tools (microbial consortiums, phytoremediation, combination of several processes, etc.),
- in better control of biological processes and technical means to overcome some of the current limitations.

The future of biotechnologies for treating polluted waste, soils and sediments will be directly linked to the research effort that will be devoted to developing new technologies or improving the adaptation of current or emerging technologies. Research into the functioning of microbial consortia (or microbial communities) appears to be a priority, as microbial consortia are considered by experts to be potentially much more effective than pure strains.) The following points should be addressed:
- structuring and functioning of microbial consortia (physiology, regulation, etc.),
- metabolic potential,
- behaviour in complex environments.

The use of exogenous micro-organisms (which may or may not be genetically modified, mutated or adapted) can in some cases improve the efficacy of treatments, but research is needed into the procedures for obtaining active exogenous consortia and for controlling their introduction and fate in the environment to be treated. Biostimulation techniques are currently favoured when the indigenous flora can be effectively stimulated. However, technological progress is still needed to better control the stimulation factors (aeration, mixing, molecules that specifically induce enzymatic biocatalysts, etc.), or to reduce the kinetic limitations linked to the accessibility of pollutants (adsorption and diffusion in polluted soils or sediments, hydrolysis of solid substrates in organic waste).

Finally, the experts consider that the application of biotechnologies could be improved:
- by seeking complementarities between different biotechnologies (e.g. phytoremediation and biostimulation, or aerobiosis/anaerobiosis association) or between biotechnologies and other treatments,
- by developing tools for on-line and in situ monitoring of fundamental parameters (biosensors and molecular probes for pollutant analysis and monitoring of microbial activities and communities).

Keywords: biotechnologies, avis d'expert, traitement biologique, déchets

Publication date: October 2003

Achievement: LAEPSI - INSA de LYON

Reference: 02-0410/1A


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