Simulating Biodegradation of Hydrocarbon Pollutants under Slow Nutrient Delivery Conditions
Journal Title: Microbiology Research Journal International - Year 2016, Vol 14, Issue 5
Abstract
Aim: Bacterial growth and petroleum hydrocarbon degradation kinetics was studied under controlled laboratory conditions, to determine and numerically simulate the fate of hydrocarbon pollutants. Study Design: A 35-day study was setup to investigate crude oil degradation and bacterial growth dynamics in water, using slow-release fertilizer formulations. Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in the Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, between January and June 2015. Methodology: Crude oil degradation studies were carried out in six (6) 500 ml capacity conical flask containing 200 ml mineral salt solution and 0.25% crude oil. The setups were inoculated with suspensions of 24-h old pure cultures of bacterial isolates (Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp. and Micrococcus sp.). Results: At the end of the study, the crude-oil concentration (S) was reduced from an initial value of 11250 ppm to 6360.6 ppm and 1471.3 ppm at weeks 5 and 10, respectively. The bacterial biomass on the other hand increased from 4.69 at the start of the experiment, to 19.36 and 34.03 (Log.10 cfu/ml) at weeks 5 and 10, respectively. Results from the numerical simulations showed that a 50% variation (reduction) on the maximum degradation rate (qmax) led to 332.32% biodiversity gain in hydrocarbon substrate (S) and a concomitant 43.11% biodiversity loss on bacterial biomass (X) after a ten-week period of simulation. Also, an 80% variation (reduction) on qmax led to a 132.93% biodiversity gain on hydrocarbon substrate and a 17.24% biodiversity loss on bacterial biomass. Conclusion: This study revealed that lower rates of crude oil utilization leads to increased volume of petroleum hydrocarbon in the environment as well as a concomitant loss in species diversity. Nutrient amendment as well as seeding with bacteria consortium is recommended for faster rates of crude oil degradation.
Authors and Affiliations
T. Sampson, C. J. Ogugbue, G. C. Okpokwasili
Keywords
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- EP ID EP350917
- DOI 10.9734/BMRJ/2016/25956
- Views 69
- Downloads 0
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