bioremediation

Meanings

1. 1noununcountabletechnical

   The use of living things, especially bacteria, fungi or plants, to remove or break down pollution in soil, water or air.

   Grammar: Uncountable: say "bioremediation of the soil," not "a bioremediation" or "bioremediations."

   Patterns

   • bioremediation of something
   • use bioremediation to do something
   • bioremediation project
   • bioremediation technique

   The company used bioremediation to clean the oil out of the marsh.

   Bioremediation of the old factory site took almost three years.

   Researchers are testing whether bioremediation can remove heavy metals from river mud.

2. 2noununcountabletechnical

   The scientific study or industry that develops these clean-up methods.

   Grammar: Used like a field of study, similar to "biotechnology": no article and no plural.

   Patterns

   • a career in bioremediation
   • research in bioremediation

   She wrote her thesis on bioremediation and now works for an environmental agency.

   Jobs in bioremediation have grown as governments tighten pollution rules.

Common combinations

bioremediation of contaminated soil

The team presented a plan for the bioremediation of contaminated soil near the refinery.

in situ bioremediation

In situ bioremediation treats the ground where it is, so no soil has to be dug up.

bioremediation project

Local residents were invited to ask questions about the bioremediation project.

enhance bioremediation

Adding nutrients can enhance bioremediation by helping the microbes grow faster.

bioremediation technique

Each bioremediation technique works best under particular temperature and oxygen conditions.

bioremediation agent

They sprayed a bioremediation agent over the spill to speed up the natural breakdown.

Synonyms and how they differ

phytoremediation

A narrower term: it means using plants specifically, whereas bioremediation can involve bacteria, fungi or plants.

biodegradation

This refers to the natural breaking down of materials by living things; bioremediation is the deliberate use of that process to fix a pollution problem.

bioremediation

No exact everyday synonym exists; in general writing people say "biological clean-up" instead.

Word family

bioremediate verb

To treat pollution using living organisms; much rarer than the noun.

bioremediator noun

An organism or substance used to carry out bioremediation.

bioremediable adjective

Able to be cleaned up by living organisms, as in "a bioremediable spill."

Commonly confused: bioremediation or biodegradable? bioremediation or biomediation?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “bioremediation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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