Deck 9: Bioremediation

Question 1

Aerobic degradation (pumping air or hydrogen peroxide into the contaminated site) is also known as ________.

A) bioprocessing
B) biostimulation
C) bioventing
D) composting
E) landfarming

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Bioremediation often requires the gain or loss of electrons as a mechanism to assist the process. Gain of electrons is known as ________.

A) reduction
B) bioprocessing
C) oxidation
D) carboxylation
E) hydrolysis

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which is NOT an indigenous microbe used for bioremediation?

A) Piscirikettsis salmonis
B) Pseudomonas aeruginosa
C) Phanerochaete sordida
D) E. coli
E) Deinococcus radiodurans

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of solid phase bioremediation?

A) Composting
B) Bioventing
C) Slurry phase
D) Phytoremediation
E) All of the above

Question 5

The source of polyvinylchloride as a chemical pollutant is ________.

A) wood preservative
B) petroleum products
C) pulp and paper bleaching
D) rubber compounds
E) plastic manufacturing

Question 6

Ananda Chakrabarty received the first U.S. patent for a GM organism. This organism was ________.

A) a transgenic mouse expressing the growth hormone gene
B) the GloFish
C) Dolly the cloned sheep
D) cloned E. coli
E) Pseudomonas engineered to degrade petroleum

Question 7

The source of cyanide as a chemical pollutant is ________.

A) wood preservative
B) petroleum products
C) pulp and paper bleaching
D) mining processes
E) plastic manufacturing

Question 8

Bioaugmentation is a process that involves ________.

A) using plants for bioremediation
B) ex situ bioremediation
C) adding microbes to a cleanup site
D) bioventing
E) sludge removal

Question 9

During which stage of wastewater treatment is the primary effluent aerated to allow for biodegradation by aerobic microbes?

A) Primary treatment
B) Secondary treatment
C) Disinfection
D) Sludge digestion
E) Sedimentation

Question 10

The source of benzene as a chemical pollutant is ________.

A) wood preservative
B) petroleum products
C) pulp and paper bleaching
D) rubber compounds
E) plastic manufacturing

Question 11

Which bioremediation approach involves mixing contaminated soil with water, carbon dioxide, and fertilizers in a bioreactor to stimulate biodegradation?

A) Composting
B) Biopile treatment
C) In situ bioremediation
D) In situ hybridization
E) Slurry-phase bioremediation

Question 12

Which cleanup approach involves removing groundwater or soil from its natural setting to allow for bioremediation?

A) In situ bioremediation
B) Ex situ bioremediation
C) Phytoremediation
D) Bioaugmentation
E) None of these choices

Question 13

Which bioremediation approach involves using plants to degrade pollutants?

A) Composting
B) Land farming
C) Biopile
D) Phytoremediation
E) None of these choices

Question 14

Which bacterium is capable of withstanding doses of radiation that are several times higher than human cells can tolerate?

A) Staphylococcus aureus
B) Saccharomyces cerevisiae
C) Deinococcus radiodurans
D) Escherichia coli
E) Conus magus

Question 15

Compounds that cause cancer are called ________.

A) mutagens
B) carcinogens
C) chemicals
D) acids
E) bases

Question 16

Anaerobic bacteria often play important roles in bioremediation. Which of the following is NOT an electron acceptor used by anaerobes during biodegradation reactions?

A) H2O
B) CO2
C) SO4-2
D) NO3-
E) Fe(III)

Question 17

The source of dioxin as a chemical pollutant is ________.

A) wood preservative
B) petroleum products
C) pulp and paper bleaching
D) rubber compounds
E) plastic manufacturing

Question 18

Bioremediation often requires the gain or loss of electrons as a mechanism to assist the process. Loss of electrons is known as ________.

A) reduction
B) bioprocessing
C) oxidation
D) carboxylation
E) hydrolysis

Question 19

Spreading contaminated soil on a pad so that water and other compounds can leak out of the soil is known as ________.

A) bioprocessing
B) biostimulation
C) bioventing
D) composting
E) landfarming

Question 20

During which stage of wastewater treatment are methanogenic microbes most important?

A) Primary treatment
B) Secondary treatment
C) Disinfection
D) Sludge digestion
E) Biological oxidation

Question 21

What is phytoremediation and why is it used?

Question 22

Define oxidation and reduction reactions and explain why they are the key components to cleaning up the environment.

Question 23

Explain the difference between ex situ and in situ bioremediation.