110 Environmental Biotechnology
Use of remediation techniques
As was stated earlier, there are several remediation techniques available, of which
bioremediation is just one and, for the most part, regional variables define which
approach will tend to be the more commonly used for any given country. In the
United Kingdom, guideline figures are available from BioWise, the government-
established body charged with promoting the use of biotechnology, formerly
‘Biotechnology Means Business’ (BMB). These indicated that of the seven most
commonly available methods in 1997, containment and encapsulation accounted
for 46% of remediation activity in the UK, excavation for disposal made up 28%,
with bioremediation in third place at 12%. The remaining 14% was achieved by
vacuum extraction (7%), chemical treatment (4%), solvent washing (2%) and
finally, at 1%, incineration as shown in Figure 5.10.
Though this may be of limited relevance in universal terms, since, as has been
pointed out throughout, the situation in one country does not necessarily bear any
resemblance to that in another, in many ways, it does serve as a useful illustration
of the link between economics and the uptake of environmental biotechnology.
Over the same period, the costs for remediation were as shown in Table 5.2.
Figure 5.10 Pie chart of remediation technologies use in the UK (1997)
Table 5.2 A cost comparison of selected
technologies
Technology Typical cost (£/m^3 )
Bioremediation 10–80
Chemical 10–100
Encapsulation 20–180
Excavation/Disposal 30–75
Incineration 100–400
Soil washing 15–40
Source: Biotechnology Means Business 1996/7
figures.