Occasionally, cultures are required to be introduced into contaminated sites to carry out bioremediation works. Traditionally, these cultures are imported from established overseas suppliers.

However, thanks to recent research carried out by Australian scientists at the University of New South Wales, Australian cultures are now commercially available.

While outcomes can expect to be similar, it can be worthwhile to understand how and why they’re available, and the benefits of locally derived cultures.

Australian bioremediation is still trying to catch up

Generally, if a site is determined to be suitable for bioremediation, the organisms required in the remediation process will occur naturally onsite. But occasionally, the environment is right, but the organisms aren’t present.

In these situations, appropriate cultures need to be introduced into the environment to kickstart the bioremediation process. Also known as bioaugmentation.

Until recently, bioaugmentation has not been possible in Australia. A lack of Australian cultures, paired with regulations restricting the importing of foreign cultures, meant this process wasn’t achievable.

This is one of the reasons bioremediation has been slow to gain momentum in Australia. But, even now that the importing restriction have been removed, many Australian companies seeking bioaugmentation options still look to cultures developed overseas.

Thanks to a head start on bioremediation research and development, foreign (mainly North American) companies are well-established and are best known in the market, providing cultures for use worldwide. But while they can be a good option, they are no longer the only one.

Australian cultures, fifteen years and counting

In 2005, world-renowned environmental microbiologist Prof MJ Manefield at the University of NSW, began working with Orica Pty Ltd on the development of bacterial cultures that could degrade chlorinated solvents under anaerobic conditions. With funding from the Australian Research Council and others and the development of relevant expertise in Australia, this work snowballed into a large research endeavour discovering and characterising organohalide mineralising cultures that continue to this day.

This included the domestication of known chlorinated ethene (Dehalococcoides) and chlorinated ethane (Desulfitobacterium) degrading bacteria from Australian environments and the world’s first bacterial culture that could completely transform chloroform into harmless end products (Dehalobacter and the previously undiscovered genus Formamonas). It also includes extensive genomic characterisation and identification of genes involved in pollutant degradation.

The numerous high impact scientific publications generated by Professor Manefield underpin our understanding of the cultures, including our ability to predict their behaviour at contaminated sites and to track their performance through our suite of molecular diagnostics tools.

The advantage of utilising Australian cultures

While there is no longer any restriction with importing foreign cultures, and there is no reason to suggest that they won’t successfully complete the desired outcome, there are several advantages that can be seen by using Australian alternatives.

  • Cultures derived from Australian conditions can be more adaptive to Australian conditions. Environmental microbiology will likely differ in Australia sites compared to those overseas.
  • Biosecurity and ecological protection become a non-issue. While importing is now relatively unrestricted, we must be careful of biological contents coming from other countries. By introducing Australian organisms into Australian environments, we’re not contaminating or disrupting ecosystems
  • Supporting Australian business and the Australian bioremediation industry. Encourage the growth of Australian bioremediation, while also being able to receive all services from a single provider.
  • Better service experience, with local assistance. By sourcing cultures from a local supplier, they can offer a more supportive service experience, as they are not limited by distance or time difference.

Perhaps the biggest benefit though is the amount of expertise and detailed research that has gone into the development of these cultures.

The intensive research that has gone into the development of Australian cultures mean Australian bioremediation experts understand what these cultures do, and how they do it, better than anybody else.

Novorem is a leading provider of bioremediation services in Australia and has worked closely in partnership with UNSW research team to develop Australian cultures for commercial use.

If you’re interested in further exploring bioremediation or the use of Australian cultures as part of your bioaugmentation process, click here to contact Novorem.

 

Author bio:

Önder Kimyon is the principal scientist of Novorem Pty Ltd and is a renowned expert in environmental science and microbiology.

Önder and the Novorem Team have made award-winning contributions to environmental research and biotechnology development, including the biological degradation of contaminants of concern.

If you would like to know more about microbiology or bioremediation, click here to contact Önder.