Cellular respiration is a metabolic process that takes place in plants to cause chemical energy from oxygen molecules into ATP ( adenosine triphosphate). Cellular respiration uses microorganisms through a process known as bioremediation to remove pollutants from an area. Bioremediation is a naturally occurring process of microorganisms through cellular respiration that focuses on destroying pollutants and making them into food for plants. Engineers will put plants in areas where pollutants are located so that the plants will use cellular respiration to eat the pollutants and return them to the air. Engineers watch the respiration of plants to monitor what bacteria are being inhaled and exhaled from an environment they are observing (Teaching Engineering, n.d.).
Hydrocarbons are an effective component when it comes to the bioremediation process. Utilizing hydrocarbons in bioremediation through biodegradable processes causes the degradation rate to decrease as the molecular rate increases within the hydrocarbon. For example, polynuclear hydrocarbons tend to slow the rate of biodegradation of organic soil that is compounded (Enim, 2013).
Scientists watch the respiration of plants to determine what bacteria (such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa) are being eaten and put out as waste into the atmosphere to determine respiration. If the process of bioremediation and cellular respiration is going well the bacteria within an observation point would be eaten at an increased respiration rate. For example, oxygen is introduced to clean up a gasoline spill through bioremediation and cellular respiration. When the oxygen is introduced the bioremediation process responds at an increased rate to clean up the spill (Fowler, S., Roush, R., Wise, J., 2013).
References:
Teaching Engineering. (n.d.). Cellular Respiration and Bioremediation. Cellular Respiration and Bioremediation - Lesson - TeachEngineering
Enim, A. (December 2013). College of Education Akampka. Factors that Determin Bioremediation of Organic Compounds in the Soil.
https://www.mcser.org/journal/index.php/ajis/article/download/2309/2284
Fowler, S., Roush, R., Wise, J., (2013). OpenStax. Concepts of Biology. 3.3 Eukaryotic Cells - Concepts of Biology | OpenStax