Geochemical Cycle of Radon and its Bioremediation Opportunity from Water Environment: A Review

Title:Geochemical Cycle of Radon and its Bioremediation Opportunity from Water Environment: A Review

Volume: 12 Issue: 4

Author(s): Debabrata Pradhan, Lala Behari Sukla*, Niharbala Devi and Sridhara Acharya

Affiliation:

• Biofuels and Bioprocessing Research Center, Institute of Technical Education and Research Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed To Be University), Bhubaneswar-751030,India

Keywords: Radon, potable water, radioactivity, algae, bioremediation, activated carbon.

Abstract: Background: The waterborne or airborne radon causes carcinogenesis in the human bodies due to the continuous decay of α- and β- particles. The health risks related to radioactive radon instigate to develop an advanced technology for its removal from the environment. There are two standard techniques, such as aeration and activated carbon filtration, available for its removal. However, both of them face different technological drawbacks resulting in the processes either inefficient or inappropriate for the purpose.

Conclusion: There are several technologies utilizing either algae or microorganisms that could be useful in the bioremediation of radon. Some of the algae and microorganisms are examined and found to be tolerated and decontaminated various ionization radiations like α-, β-, and γ- radiations. In a US patent, the microalgae Coccomyxa actinabiotis isolated from a nuclear facility showed the properties of bioremediation towards radionuclides. They overcome the physiological stress in the extreme environment for their growth due to the evolution under the prolonged influence of high energy radiation. Further, they are stimulated by the process of cloning, genetic transformations and adaptations for the purpose of enhancing the tolerance and decontamination power. Therefore, biotechnological researches have lots of prospects to remove radon from the water environment using algae and microorganisms.

Cite this article as:

Pradhan Debabrata, Sukla Behari Lala*, Devi Niharbala and Acharya Sridhara, Geochemical Cycle of Radon and its Bioremediation Opportunity from Water Environment: A Review, Recent Patents on Biotechnology 2018; 12 (4) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/2211550107666180501123246