Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
at its simplest the environmental biotechnologist is principally concerned with a
relatively small number of basic cycles. In this respect, a good working knowl-
edge of biological processes like respiration, fermentation and photosynthesis,
a grasp of the major cycles by which carbon, nitrogen and water are recycled
and an appreciation of the flow of energy through the biosphere must be viewed
as prerequisites. Unsurprisingly, then, these basic processes appear throughout
this topic, either explicitly or tacitly accepted as underpinning the context of the
discussion. The intent here has been neither to insult the readership by parading
what is already well known, nor gloss over aspects which, if left unexplained, at
least in reasonable detail, might only serve to confuse. However, this is expressly
not designed to be a substitute for much more specific texts on these subjects, nor
an entire alternative to a cohesive course on biology or biochemistry. The inten-
tion is to introduce and explain the necessary aspects and elements of various
metabolic pathways, reactions and abilities as required to advance the reader's
understanding of this particular branch of biotechnology.
A large part of the reasons for approaching the subject in this way is the fact
that there really is no such thing as a 'typical' environmental biotechnologist any
more than there is a 'typical' environmental science student. The qualifications,
knowledge base and experience of each means that practitioners come into the
profession from a wide variety of disciplines and by many different routes. Thus,
amongst their ranks are agronomists, biochemists, biologists, botanists, enzymol-
ogists, geneticists, microbiologists, molecular biologists, process engineers and
protein technologists, all of whom bring their own particular skills, knowledge
base and experiences. The applied nature of environmental biotechnology is obvi-
ous. While the science underlying the processes themselves may be as pure as any
other, what distinguishes this branch of biological technology are the distinctly
real-life purposes to which it is put. Hence, part of the intended function of this
book is to attempt to elucidate the former in order to establish the basis of the
latter. At the same time, as any applied scientist will confirm, what happens in
the field under operational conditions represents a distinct compromise between
the theoretical and the practically achievable. At times, anything more than an
approximation to the expected results may be counted as something of a triumph
of environmental engineering.
Closing Remarks
The celebrated astronomer and biologist, Sir Fred Hoyle, said that the solutions
to major unresolved problems should be sought by the exploration of radical
hypotheses, while simultaneously adhering to well tried and tested scientific tools
and methods. This approach is particularly valid for environmental biotechnology.
With new developments in treatment technologies appearing all the time, the list
of what can be processed or remediated by biological means is ever changing. By
the same token, the applications for which biotechnological solutions are sought
are also subject to alteration. For the biotech sector to keep abreast of these
Search WWH ::
Custom Search