what is a biodegradation?
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Biodegradation\nBiodegradation is nature's way of recycling wastes, or breaking down organic matter into nutrients that can be used by other organisms. "Degradation" means decay, and the "bio-" prefix means that the decay is carried out by a huge assortment of bacteria, fungi, insects, worms, and other organisms that eat dead material and recycle it into new forms. \n\nIn nature, there is no waste because everything gets recycled. The waste products from one organism become the food for others, providing nutrients and energy while breaking down the waste organic matter. Some organic materials will break down much faster than others, but all will eventually decay.\nBy harnessing these natural forces of biodegradation, people can reduce wastes and clean up some types of environmental contaminants. Through composting, we accelerate natural biodegradation and convert organic wastes to a valuable resource. Wastewater treatment also accelerates natural forces of biodegradation. In this case the purpose is to break down organic matter so that it will not cause pollution problems when the water is released into the environment. Through bioremediation, microorganisms are used to clean up oil spills and other types of organic pollution. Composting and bioremediation provide many possibililites for student research. \n\n\n\nhttp://ei.cornell.edu/biodeg/\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradation\nhttp://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Display.cfm?Term=biodegradation
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There is carbon in EVERY organic material on earth ie...plants and animals.  When dead lifeforms decompose the result is carbon.
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In general, molds (more properly fungi) and bacteria are decomposing organisms - they cause things to rot, to decay, to decompose. If we didn't have them around, we'd all be knee deep in dead things. \n\nTheir life-style may be similar but their biology is very different - they belong to two separate kingdoms of life. Bacteria are single-celled prokaryotes that reproduce by fission, fungi are multi-cellular eukaryotes that reproduce with spores.
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Erosion (note spelling) is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock and other particles) by the agents of wind, water or ice, by downward or down-slope movement in response to gravity or by living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). Erosion is distinguished from weathering, which is the decomposition of rock and particles through processes where no movement is involved, although the two processes may be concurrent.\n\nErosion is an intrinsic natural process but in many places it is increased by human land use. Poor land use practices include deforestation, overgrazing, unmanaged construction activity and road or trail building. However, improved land use practices can limit erosion, using techniques like terrace-building and tree planting.\n\nA certain amount of erosion is natural and, in fact, healthy for the ecosystem. For example, gravels continually move downstream in watercourses. Excessive erosion, however, can cause problems, such as receiving water sedimentation, ecosystem damage (including dead fish) and outright loss of soil.
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The biosphere is a complex, life-sustaining system comprising living and nonliving components. Land, water, and air systems interacting to produce food and support life on this planet are all part of the biosystem. \n\nEngineering is the application of a basic science, such as physics or chemistry, to solve problems. Traditionally, engineering has employed a single-pass approach to solve problems, using resources that produce waste at every step from processing to transport to consumption. \n\nA biosystems engineer employs the basic science of biology to enhance the well-being of animals, plants, and the biosphere. Unlike traditional engineering, which addresses problems to find immediate solutions, biosystems engineering looks at problems in loops--seeking the ultimate sources of problems to identify sustainable, environmentally sound solutions that minimize waste and continually recycle materials. Biosystems engineers are involved in .\nyou will mainly tackles the following subjects:-\npollution control \nwaste management \nintegrated pest management \nreducing the use of chemicals in food production \nensuring the quality and safety of our food supplies by using new technologies for food processing \ndeveloping renewable energy systems from solar and biomass sources \npreserving wetlands by designing more efficient irrigation systems \nimproving the quality and productivity of plants and animals by making them less susceptible to disease \nthe program leading to the bachelor of science degree in biosystems engineering prepares you for careers in the private and public sectors that address the challenges imposed by a rapidly growing world population, expanding food and energy needs, increasing resource demands, and greater environmental stresses.
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What then is biotechnology? The term brings to mind many different things. Some think of developing new types of animals. Others dream of almost unlimited sources of human therapeutic drugs. Still others envision the possibility of growing crops that are more nutritious and naturally pest-resistant to feed a rapidly growing world population. This question elicits almost as many first-thought responses as there are people to whom the question can be posed. \n\nIn its purest form, the term "biotechnology" refers to the use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment. Prehistoric biotechnologists did this as they used yeast cells to raise bread dough and to ferment alcoholic beverages, and bacterial cells to make cheeses and yogurts and as they bred their strong, productive animals to make even stronger and more productive offspring.
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Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock and other particles) by the agents of wind, water or ice, by downward or down-slope movement in response to gravity or by living organisms (in the case of bioerosion).\n\nDeposition, also known as sedimentation, is the geological process whereby material is added to a landform. This is the process by which wind, water or ice create a sediment deposit, through the laying down of granular material that has been eroded and transported from another geographical location.\n\nDeposition occurs when the forces responsible for sediment transportation are no longer sufficient to overcome the forces of particle weight and friction, which resist motion. Deposition can also refer to the build up of a sediment from organically derived matter or chemical processes. For example, chalk is made up partly of the microscopic calcium carbonate skeletons of marine plankton, the deposition of which has induced chemical processes (diagenesis) to deposit further calcium carbonate.
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Polution, and destroying trees and stuff. Basically living, destroys the envirment.
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Photocatalytic degradation is any process that decomposes a compound that is catalyzed by the presence of electromagnetic radiation.  For example, certain plastics will naturally oxidize over time, and become brittle.  this reaction is accelerated by the presence of sunlight.
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Try using a pro-biotic product. The bacteria in the product digests waste. They use this in commercial ponds for cleaning before restocking, and also in oil spills, because it can digest petrol. Ask your local house and garden supplies shop, or if you live near farms ask them.
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Biotechnology employs the use of microorganisms like bacteria and yeasts and biological substances like enzymes in various industrial and manufacturing processes. Generally, biotechnology has applications in agriculture, food science, and medicine. These various applications include: \n\nUse in drugs, synthetic hormone, and bulk foods \n\nUse in the conversion of organic waste \n\nUse of some genetically altered bacterial forms in cleaning up oil spills.
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Decomposed rock and organic matter.
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Bacteria is essential in the breakdown of matter.  Ecologically, bacteria breaks plant and animal matter down into nutritious soil for new plants to grow.\n\nEconomically? Compost, antibiotics, yogurt, etc. all need bacteria.  Also, if bacteria didn't help break down matter, we would have to pay to get rid of it.
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If this is biodegrade styrofoam, any chemistry prof should be able to explain what you doing.  All hydrocarbons degrade under exposure to UV light (or stronger radiation), the real concern is to have them degrade without toxic byproducts, and into something that might be usable in the future as a raw materiel.
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Biodegradable Plastics (GreenPla) are plastics which can be used as conventional plastics, while on disposal they decompose to water and carbon dioxide by the action of microorganisms commonly existing in natural environment. They can, thus, be returned to nature.\n\nBiodegradable plastics made with plant-based materials have been available for many years. Their high cost, however, has meant they have never replaced traditional non-degradable plastics in the mass market. A new Australian venture is producing affordable biodegradable plastics that might change all that.\n\nbiodegradable plastics, such as MaterBi, which will biodegrade, while others such as polylactide (PLA) will compost.
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Metabolism is the biochemical modification of chemical compounds in living organisms and cells. This includes the biosynthesis of complex organic molecules (anabolism) and their breakdown (catabolism). Metabolism usually consists of sequences of enzymatic steps, also called metabolic pathways. The total metabolism are all biochemical processes of an organism. The cell metabolism includes all chemical processes in a cell.
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Conjugation \nModern bacteria reproduce by splitting in two - that is, they have asexual reproduction. But a bacteria can join temporarily with another bacteria to swap genetic fragments. This conjugation process is why so many bacteria have recently become antibiotic resistant. The process permits bacteria to form a sort of community.\n\nBiological reproduction is the biological process by which new individual organisms are produced. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual organism exists as the result of reproduction by an antecedent. The known methods of reproduction are broadly grouped into two main types: sexual and asexual reproduction.\n\n\nso by this v can see that asexual reproduction is conjugation