Ecological engineering to improve the sustainability of soil remediation inremote locations and developing countries

• Toxic compounds from industrial activities accumulate in the ecosystems at an unsustainable rate. Ecological engineering has been proposed as a tool to design ecosystems that integrate human society with its natural environment for the benefit of the both. Bioremediation is generally considered an ecological engineering practice but even if it addresses one of the core goals of ecological engineering, i.e. restoration of damaged ecosystems, bioremediation can be energy-intensive and have low reliance on self-design, particularly if excavation and ex situ methods are employed.From a thermodynamic point of view, most organic pollutants are composed of molecules with high embodied energies and free energy potential that are appealing features for the use of ecological engineering, especially in locations where economic incentives are small for any kind of remediation to be performed,Based on positive experiences from an ongoing research project in Nicaragua, in which by-products and waste material are used as primary feedstock, it is concluded that the principles of ecological engineering can be useful to make in situ bioremediation a more sustainable practice in remote locations and developing countries.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

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