Monitoring Bioremediation Success

Bioremediation involves the use of living organisms to remove pollution from the environment. This is accomplished when organisms (often microbes) eat toxic compounds. In other words, the organisms break down the organic molecules similar to the way that humans eat food. When humans eat, they break down foods such as carbohydrates and proteins, generating harmless byproducts and wastes.

Consider how the progress of bioremediation might be evaluated. One method would be to measure the remaining presence of the contaminants, but what about measuring products of cellular respiration? Is cellular respiration occuring? If the rate of cellular respiration were used to monitor bioremediation, what specific compounds/molecules should be measured?

Your initial post (due Wednesday) should

Explain why cellular respiration is occurring when organisms are utilized to remove pollutants from an area.
Identify the initial reactants and final products of this cellular respiration process.
Analyze and explain what molecules might be measured to determine the success of the bioremediate process.
After identifying what will be measured, explain the results that you would expect to obtain if the process is going well vs not proceeding as planned.
Properly cite any sources that you use to support your ideas (you should use at least one source).