Rapid industrialization, fast urbanization and increased technological advancement of the world during the 20th century proved to be a boon as well as bane on equal counts, as it resulted in accumulation of huge heaps of environmental wastes and hazardous persistent substances. Advent of Biotechnology in the last quarter of 20th century heralded a new era in combating the problems of environmental pollution. A new branch of environmental biotechnology called 'Biodegradation and Bioremediation' specially focused on the degradation and remediation of persistent pollutants by means of biological organisms and/or their components. This volume 11 of 12 volume series on Recent Developments in Biotechnology is a collection of topics of interest for researchers, teachers and consulting professionals in the disciplines of biotechnology, microbiology, biochemistry, soil sciences and environmental sciences. The topics covered in this volume include: o Recent advances in the field of bioremediation o Bioremediation of dioxins o Bacterial metabolism of petroleum hydrocarbons o Fungal degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons o Bioremediation of pesticides o White rot fungal mediated remediation of industrial pollutants o Oxidative enzymes in the treatment of industrial effluents o Microbial degradation of azod yes o Fungal lactases for lignin degradation in pulp and paper industry o Ligninolytic enzymes for bioremediation of xenobiotics o Classification, properties and environmental applications of biosurfactants o An overview on biosorption of heavy metals o Heavy metals bioremediation by microbial biomass o Heavy metals bioremediation using low cost biosorbents o Microalgae immobilization for wastewater treatment o Nan remediation for environmental protection o Bio-demineralization of coal by fungi o Biodegradation of vegetable waste for cellulose production The volume 11 contains 18 chapters from 34 researchers and/or academicians representing 4 nations, namely, Brazil, India, Pakistan and Portugal giving an overview of the various research activities being carried out in different parts of the world on Bioremediation techniques.

By Masood Ahmad and J.N. Govil