Bioaugmentation

Bioaugmentation is the introduction of a group of natural microbial strains or a genetically engineered variant to achieve bioremediation.

Usually the steps involve studying the indigenous varieties present in the location to determine if biostimulation is possible. If the indigenous variety do not have the metabolic capability to perform the remediation process, exogenous varieties with such sophisticated pathways are introduced.

The availability of glutaraldehyde treated recombinant E. coli is a boon to bioaugmentation approaches. The glutaraldehyde treatment crosslinks the cell wall, rendering the bacteria unable to reproduce, which makes treatment by these "catalytic particles" environmentally and ethically sound.

Bioaugmentation was invented and developed by George M. Robinson. He was the assistant county petroleum engineer in Santa Maria, California. During the 1960's he had spent his spare time experimenting with dirty jars and various mixes of microbes.