# Microbial bioremediation (enzymatic degradation, PFAS destruction, MBR wastewater)
Microbes and enzymes that degrade or destroy pollutants — waste plastic, PFAS, industrial effluents and municipal wastewater — a remediation value chain from contaminated streams to clean water, recoverable monomers and inert residue.
Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/microbial-bioremediation/
Updated: 2026-08-18
## Overview and value chain
Markers: [EC: US EPA PFAS MCL + EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive | OECD: Environmental biotechnology, Circular bioeconomy | Regulator: EPA (USA), ADEME (France), REACH (EU)]
Microbial bioremediation uses bacteria, fungi, microalgae and engineered enzymes to degrade,
detoxify or immobilize pollutants — waste plastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),
hydrocarbons, industrial effluents and municipal wastewater — converting contaminants into
harmless metabolites, recoverable monomers or inert residue. It is the lowest-energy, lowest-
carbon route to environmental cleanup, and it is scaling fast on regulatory pressure: the US
EPA's 2024 national primary drinking water regulation caps PFOA and PFOS near 4 parts per
trillion, and the EU's revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive pushes energy neutrality
and nutrient removal. Carbios operates enzymatic polyethylene-terephthalate biorecycling at a
50,000-tonne-per-year reference scale (Longlavat, France, with a second 50,000-tonne plant in
Haining, China expected in H1 2028); Revive Environmental's PFAS Annihilator uses supercritical
water oxidation to destroy forever chemicals at facility scale; and Beijing Originwater's
membrane bioreactors underpin large Chinese municipal plants while VA Tech Wabag runs a
45-megalitre-per-day tertiary treatment plant in Chennai under a contract above 1,000 crore
rupees. The global water and wastewater treatment services market, into which most of this
flows, exceeds 300 billion dollars a year.
The key directions of microbial bioremediation are:
1. **Enzymatic plastic biodegradation (Carbios):** engineered PET hydrolase enzymes depolymerize
waste polyethylene terephthalate into its monomers for repolymerization into virgin-grade
resin, at a 50,000-tonne-per-year commercial scale in France.
2. **PFAS and persistent-pollutant destruction (Revive, Allonnia):** Revive's supercritical
water oxidation shatters PFAS molecules at facility scale, while Allonnia's engineered
microbes target biosorption and degradation of mining and waste contaminants.
3. **Membrane bioreactors and bio-wastewater (Originwater, Wabag):** the membrane bioreactor
fuses activated-sludge biology with membrane separation, delivering high-quality reuse water
from municipal and industrial effluent at plants like Chennai's 45-MLD tertiary facility.
4. **Industrial enzyme biosolutions (Novonesis):** engineered enzymes degrade fats, starches,
proteins and recalcitrant organics in wastewater and sludge, lifting biogas yield and
cutting chemical oxygen demand before discharge.
### Sectoral value chain
```
[Pollutant stream: wastewater / effluent / waste plastic / contaminated site] ──> [Characterization & conditioning] ──> [Bio-treatment: microbial / enzymatic / MBR / destruction]
│
(separation and recovery)
│
▼
[Outputs: clean water · recovered monomers · inert residue] <─── [Polishing and discharge or reuse]
```
### Value chain levels
| Level | Description | Key inputs/outputs |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Pollutant source (Stream)** | Municipal sewage, industrial effluent, waste plastic, PFAS-impacted water or contaminated soil. | **In:** raw waste stream.
**Out:** characterized influent. |
| **Characterization (Assay)** | Sampling, contaminant profiling and pretreatment (screening, equalization, pH control). | **In:** raw stream, energy.
**Out:** conditioned feed. |
| **Bio-treatment (Conversion)** | Activated sludge, membrane bioreactor, enzymatic hydrolysis or supercritical oxidation. | **In:** conditioned feed, microbes/enzymes.
**Out:** treated liquor or monomers. |
| **Separation & recovery (Recovery)** | Membrane filtration, settling, distillation or monomer purification. | **In:** treated liquor.
**Out:** clean permeate or monomer stream. |
| **Polishing & discharge (Polish)** | Tertiary treatment (reverse osmosis, disinfection) and discharge or reuse. | **In:** permeate.
**Out:** reuse-grade water. |
| **Residue valorization (Residue)** | Biosolids to biogas or fertilizer, recovered polymer to virgin resin, inert ash to landfill. | **In:** sludge, residue.
**Out:** biogas, monomers, inert waste. |
Cross-cutting technologies of the sector:
- **Engineered enzymes and strains:** Novonesis and Carbios tune enzyme active sites to cleave specific bonds (ester, peptide, fluorocarbon) that natural biodegradation cannot reach.
- **Membrane and separation tech:** polymeric and ceramic membranes drive the membrane bioreactor and tertiary reverse-osmosis stages that make direct water reuse economical.
- **Biosensors and monitoring:** real-time chemical oxygen demand, PFAS and pathogen sensors close the control loop that keeps bio-treatment within permit limits.
---
## US
The United States pairs environmental-biotech start-ups with the world's tightest PFAS regime:
the EPA's 2024 drinking-water maximum contaminant levels (~4 parts per trillion for PFOA and
PFOS) plus Superfund designation for PFOA/PFOS create a bankable destruction market.
### PFAS destruction, engineered microbes, enzymatic platforms
- **Revive Environmental:** its PFAS Annihilator, developed with Battelle, uses supercritical
water oxidation (heat, pressure and oxidant) to break the carbon-fluorine bond and destroy
PFAS to non-detect levels at facility scale, deployable at waste and water sites.
- **Allonnia:** a Ginkgo Bioworks spinout building engineered-microbe biosolutions; its D-Solve
uses microbe-generated agents to selectively dissolve gangue minerals in mining flowsheets,
extending biosolutions from wastewater into process remediation.
- **PFAS and CERCLA pull:** the EPA MCL plus the designation of PFOA and PFOS as CERCLA
hazardous substances turns PFAS liability into a funded destruction pipeline for Revive-class
technologies.
---
## CN
China runs the world's largest municipal wastewater build-out, anchored by membrane-bioreactor
leaders like Beijing Originwater and by enzymatic-recycling capacity coming online with
Carbios' Asian plant.
### MBR municipal treatment, enzymatic recycling capacity
- **Beijing Originwater (300070):** a leading Chinese water company whose membrane bioreactor
combines activated-sludge biology with submerged membrane modules, replacing the secondary
clarifier and sustaining high mixed-liquor suspended solids for high-quality reuse water.
- **Carbios Haining plant:** the 50,000-tonne-per-year enzymatic PET biorecycling facility in
Zhejiang, built with Wankai New Materials, is now expected to start up in H1 2028 after
site-specific technical adaptations.
- **Scale and policy:** China's treated-wastewater volume and reuse targets make membrane and
biological treatment the dominant remediation route, supported by national pollution-discharge
standards (GB 18918).
---
## EU
Europe pairs enzymatic-bioremediation leadership (Carbios, Novonesis) with a regulatory frame
— the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and the planned EU PFAS restriction — that
forces energy-neutral plants and pollutant elimination.
### Enzymatic recycling, biosolution enzymes, water directive
- **Carbios (Euronext: ALCBR):** its Longlavat (France) 50,000-tonne-per-year plant enzymatically
depolymerizes waste PET into purified monomers for food-grade repolymerization, the reference
commercial site for enzymatic plastic biorecycling.
- **Novonesis:** the Novozymes–Chr. Hansen merger (effective 2024) created the leading industrial
biosolutions firm, supplying engineered enzymes that cut chemical oxygen demand and lift biogas
yield across municipal and industrial wastewater.
- **Directive pull:** the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive mandates energy
neutrality for large plants and tertiary treatment in sensitive areas, while the REACH-based
PFAS restriction proposal adds destruction demand for Revive-class technology.
---
## Leading companies and research institutes
| Company / Institute | Country | Key products / platforms | Tech features | Status 2026 |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| **Carbios** | 🇫🇷 France | *Enzymatic PET biorecycling* | 50,000 t/yr Longlavat + Haining (H1 2028); engineered PET hydrolase | Growth |
| **Novonesis** | 🇩🇰 Denmark | *Industrial biosolution enzymes* | Novozymes + Chr. Hansen (2024); wastewater/sludge enzymes | Commercial |
| **Allonnia** | 🇺🇸 USA | *Engineered-microbe biosolutions (D-Solve)* | Ginkgo spinout; mining and waste biosolutions | Pilot |
| **Revive Environmental** | 🇺🇸 USA | *PFAS Annihilator (SCWO)* | Supercritical water oxidation; facility-scale PFAS destruction | Commercial |
| **Originwater** | 🇨🇳 China | *Membrane bioreactor (MBR)* | 碧水源; submerged-membrane activated sludge | Commercial |
| **Wabag** | 🇮🇳 India | *Water & wastewater EPC + O&M* | 45 MLD Chennai TTRO; >₹1,000 crore order | Commercial |
---
## Tech stack and innovations
The microbial-bioremediation stack rests on four pillars: enzymatic depolymerization, PFAS
destruction, membrane bioreactors and industrial biosolution enzymes — together converting
contaminants into clean water, recoverable monomers and inert residue.
1. **Enzymatic depolymerization:**
- Carbios' engineered LCC (leaf-branch-compost) polyethylene-terephthalate hydrolase cleaves
the ester bonds in waste PET at a 50,000-tonne-per-year scale, yielding purified
terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol for repolymerization.
- Directed evolution raised enzyme thermostability and turnover to industrial rates,
enabling a stirred-tank process that tolerates mixed and coloured waste.
2. **PFAS destruction and biosorption:**
- Revive's supercritical water oxidation operates above water's critical point (~374 C and
220 bar) to mineralize PFAS to carbon dioxide, fluoride and water below detection limits.
- Allonnia's engineered microbes pursue selective biosorption and degradation of mining and
waste contaminants, an emerging complement where destruction is impractical.
3. **Membrane bioreactors:**
- The MBR fuses activated-sludge biology with submerged ultrafiltration or microfiltration
membranes, sustaining high biomass concentration and removing the secondary clarifier;
Originwater deploys it at municipal scale across China.
- Membrane flux, fouling control and aeration energy set operating cost, the levers Wabag
tunes in plants like the 45-MLD Chennai tertiary reverse-osmosis facility.
4. **Industrial biosolution enzymes:**
- Novonesis enzymes hydrolyze lipids, starches and proteins in wastewater and sludge,
reducing chemical oxygen demand and lifting biogas yield in anaerobic digestion.
- Formulation stability across pH, temperature and inhibitor gradients decides whether a
biosolution survives a real municipal or industrial plant.
---
## Value chains and production pipelines
### Industrial pipeline of membrane-bioreactor wastewater treatment (GB 18918 / EU UWWTD)
```
┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Influent screening │ ───> │ 2. Primary treatment │
└───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 4. Membrane separation │ <─── │ 3. Activated-sludge biotreatment│
└───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 5. Tertiary polishing │ ───> │ 6. Discharge or reuse │
└───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘
```
#### Stage 1: Influent screening
Raw municipal or industrial sewage passes through coarse and fine screens and grit removal to
protect downstream pumps and membranes from rags, grit and debris before equalization.
#### Stage 2: Primary treatment
Primary settling removes settleable suspended solids and floating scum, cutting the biological
load by roughly a third and producing primary sludge routed to anaerobic digestion.
#### Stage 3: Activated-sludge biotreatment
Aerobic microbes in the bioreactor oxidize dissolved organic matter, with nitrification and
denitrification stages removing nitrogen; high mixed-liquor suspended solids raise the
treatment rate in the MBR configuration.
#### Stage 4: Membrane separation
Submerged ultrafiltration or microfiltration membranes separate the cleaned water from the
biomass, replacing the secondary clarifier and yielding a solids-free permeate at the heart of
Originwater's MBR plants.
#### Stage 5: Tertiary polishing
The permeate passes through tertiary treatment — activated carbon, disinfection or reverse
osmosis — as in Wabag's 45-MLD Chennai tertiary-treatment reverse-osmosis plant, to reach reuse
or stringent discharge limits.
#### Stage 6: Discharge or reuse
Polished effluent is discharged to a receiving water body under GB 18918 or the EU Urban
Wastewater Treatment Directive, or reused for industrial, urban or agricultural purposes,
closing the water loop and valorizing the treated stream.