Abstract
Microorganisms contaminating international Jet A-1 aircraft fuel and fuel preserved in Joint Hydrant Storage Tank (JHST) were isolated, characterized and identified. The isolates were Bacillus subtillis, Bacillus megaterium, Flavobacterium oderatum, Sarcina flava, Micrococcus varians, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus brevis. Others included Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, Saccharomyces estuari, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cladosporium resinae, Penicillium citrinum and Penicillium frequentans. The viable plate count of microorganisms in the Aircraft Tank ranged from 1.3 (±0.01) × 104 cfu/mL to 2.2 (±1.6) × 104 cfu/mL for bacteria and 102 cfu/mL to 1.68 (±0.32) × 103 cfu/mL for fungi. Total bacterial counts of 1.79 (±0.2) × 104 cfu/mL to 2.58 (±0.04) × 104 cfu/mL and total fungal count of 2.1 (±0.1) × 103 cfu/mL to 2.28 (±0.5) × 103 cfu/mL were obtained for JHST. Selected isolates were re-inoculated into filter sterilized aircraft fuels and biodegradation studies carried out. After 14 days incubation, Cladosporium resinae exhibited the highest degradation rate with a percentage weight loss of 66 followed by Candida albicans (60.6) while Penicillium citrinum was the least degrader with a weight loss of 41.6%. The ability of the isolates to utilize the fuel as their sole source of carbon and energy was examined and found to vary in growth profile between the isolates. The results imply that aviation fuel could be biodegraded by hydrocarbonoclastic microorganisms. To avert a possible deterioration of fuel quality during storage, fuel pipe clogging and failure, engine component damage, wing tank corrosion and aircraft disaster, efficient routine monitoring of aircraft fuel systems is advocated.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anon B (1976) Silver corrosion by aviation turbine fuels IP 227/73. Standards for petroleum and its products. Methods for analysis and testing, 35th edn. Applied Science Publishers, United Kingdom, pp 223–240
Antai SP, Mgbomo E (1989) Distribution of hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria in oil spilled areas. Microbiol Lett 40:137–143
Atlas RM, Bartha R (1972) Degradation and mineralization of petroleum by two bacteria isolated from coastal waters. Biotechnol Bioeng 14:297–308. doi:10.1002/bit.260140303
Barnet HL, Hunter BB (1987) Illustrated genera of Imperfect fungi. MacMillian Publishing Co, New York, p 281
Barrow GI, Feltham RKA (2003) Cowan and Steels’ manual for the identification of medical bacteria, 3rd edn. Cambridge University Press, London, p 331
Berner NH, Ahearn DG (1977) Observations on the growth and survival of Cladosporium resinae in jet fuel. Dev Ind Microbiol 18:705–710
Brooks AA, Itah AY (2004) Fusion of two yeast strains for enhanced crude oil degradation. Glob J Pure Appl Sci 10(4):491–496
Elphick JJ (1975) Microbial corrosion in aircraft fuel systems. In: Miller JD (ed) Microbial aspects of metallurgy. Medical and Technical Publishing Co. Ltd, Ayles, pp 25–30
Essien JP, Itah AY, Eduok SI (2003) Influence of electrical conductivity on microorganism and rate of crude oil mineralization in Niger delta ultisol. Glob J Pure Appl Sci 9:199–203
Goodger EM (1975) Hydrocarbon fuels, production properties and performance of liquids and gases. Academic Press, London, pp 143–147
Holt JG, Krieg NP, Sneath PHA, Satley J, Williams ST (1994) Bergey’s manual of determinative bacteriology, 9th edn. Williams and Wilkins Publishers, Baltimore, p 787
Ijah UJJ, Ukpe LI (1992) Biodegradation of crude oil by Bacillus strains 28A and 61B isolated from oil spilled soil. Waste Manag 12:55–60. doi:10.1016/0956-053X(92)90009-8
Itah AY (1999) Biodegradation of qua iboe light crude oil by coastal marine spilled site at Iko, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. J Appl Sci 2:412–427
Itah AY, Essien JP (2001) Petroleum hydrocarbon degrading capabilities and growth profile of bacteria from crude oil polluted ultisol and brackish water. Glob J Pure Appl Sci 1:507–512
Itah AY, Essien JP (2005) Growth profile and hydrocarbonclastic potential of microorganisms isolated from tarballs in the bight of bonny, Nigeria. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 21:1317–1322. doi:10.1007/s11274-004-6694-z
Lodder J (1974) The yeasts, 2nd edn. Northern Holland Publishing Co. Amsterdam and American Publishing Co. Incorp, New York, pp 214–220
Odu CTI (1972) Microbiology of Soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. Extent of contamination and some soil and microbial properties after contamination. J Inst Petrol 58:201–208
Okpokwasili GC, Okorie BB (1988) Biodeterioration potentials of microorganisms isolated from car engine lubricating oil. Tribol Int 21:215–220. doi:10.1016/0301-679X(88)90020-5
Park PB (1975) Biodeterioration in aircraft fuel systems. In: Pearce DW (ed) Microbial aspects on the deterioration of materials. Academic Press, London, pp 212–215
Perber DG (1971) Biological problems in jet aviation fuel and the biology of Amorphotheca resinae. Mater Org 6:161–208
Speight JG (1993) The chemistry and technology of petroleum. Longman Publishers Ltd, London, pp 5–10
Walker JA, Cohwell RR (1975) Utilization of mixed hydrocarbon substrate by petroleum degrading microorganisms. J Gen Appl Microbiol 21:27–31. doi:10.2323/jgam.21.27
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Itah, A.Y., Brooks, A.A., Ogar, B.O. et al. Biodegradation of International Jet A-1 Aviation Fuel by Microorganisms Isolated from Aircraft Tank and Joint Hydrant Storage Systems. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 83, 318–327 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-009-9770-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-009-9770-0