Biodegradation of diesel oil by an Arabian Sea sediment culture isolated from the vicinity of an oil field

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2004.02.029

Bioresource Technology

Volume 95, Issue 3, December 2004, Pages 281-286

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2004.02.029 Get rights and content

Abstract

Laboratory scale batch studies were performed to test the diesel oil biodegradation ability of ES1 cultures isolated from Arabian Sea sediments obtained from the vicinity of an oil field. This culture could utilize diesel as the sole source of carbon and energy. Under aerobic conditions, 39% loss of diesel oil was observed over 8 days where 80% of the loss was due to aliphatic constituents. Under anoxic nitrate reducing conditions the rate and extent of degradation was significantly lower, i.e., 18% over 50 days. Salt acclimatized cultures could tolerate salinities up to 3.5% and demonstrated optimal performance at a salinity of 0.5%. The optimum N/P ratio for these cultures was found to be in the range of 2:1–5:1. Addition of two trace elemental substance formulations exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on culture growth. This culture has good potential for decontamination of oil-contaminated marine and subsurface environments.

Introduction

Technological development and increasing industrial activities in India have necessitated a vast increase in the use of fuel oil. Over the entire lifecycle including extraction, transportation, refining, storage, usage and ultimate disposal there is considerable risk of environmental contamination by these non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) composed of a large number of hazardous and toxic constituents (Kingston, 2002; Caprino and Togna, 1998). Widespread contamination has been reported in both marine and subsurface environments due to accidents involving motorized vehicles (ships, cars, trucks, etc.), leaks and spills from underground storage tank, pipelines and illegal disposals.

Remediation of affected areas with the use of microorganisms can offer a cost effective solution for restoring the ecosystem and can ensure clean groundwater supplies. Several researchers have reported microorganisms with enhanced oil degrading abilities isolated from natural habitats historically contaminated with oil. Bioaugmentation with external addition of such microorganisms is widely practiced and has been shown to facilitate in situ bioremediation of oil-contaminated sites (Hess et al., 1997). Bioremediation processes are significantly affected by the inherent capabilities of the microorganisms, their ability to overcome the bioavailability limitations in multiphase environmental scenarios (oil–water–soil) and environmental factors such as temperature, pH, nutrients and electron acceptor availability (Mukherji and Vijay, 2002).

The present study centers around a culture, designated as ES1, enriched from Arabian Sea sediments in the vicinity of an oil field in the Bombay High region (Mumbai, India). By virtue of their origin, we expected these microorganisms to exhibit capabilities for oil degradation under adverse conditions, i.e., high salinity and low oxygen availability. This work was undertaken to determine the potential of the isolated microorganisms to degrade diesel oil hydrocarbons under varying environmental conditions. Laboratory scale batch studies were undertaken to optimize culture growth and oil biodegradation by manipulating the media formulation. The rate and extent of oil biodegradation was studied under aerobic and anoxic conditions and the ability of the cultures to withstand high salt concentrations was tested. It is particularly important to study the inherent degradation capabilities of microorganisms prior to bioaugmentation. Depending on the culture capabilities and environmental factors, the oil phase composition changes, thus, changing the toxicological implications.

Section snippets

Methods

Diesel oil obtained from a local petrol pump (Mumbai, India) was stored in an airtight container and was used as received. All other inorganic and organic chemicals were of analytical reagent grade. An Arabian Sea sediment sample obtained near the Enron oil fields in Bombay High (near Mumbai, India) was used for culture isolation.

Results and discussion

The ES1 culture formed tiny transparent colonies on mineral media plates with diesel as the sole source of carbon and energy. The colonies consisted of rod-shaped gram-negative bacteria. Attempts at identifying the cultures proved unsuccessful (IMTECH, Chandigarh, India) and it may be possible that ES1 is not a pure culture although distinctly different colony types could not be observed on mineral media plates.

The diesel oil used in these studies is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons. Column

Conclusions

In this work we have demonstrated the diesel oil degrading potential of a culture isolated from deep sea sediments. A maximum degradation of 42% (abiotic losses 12%) was observed under aerobic conditions over 30 days at 30 °C. Of the total weight loss, 80% was due to aliphatics and 12.5% was due to aromatics. In contrast, under anoxic nitrate reducing conditions the maximum loss observed was only 18% (abiotic losses 6%) over 50 days. Under aerobic conditions the rapid phase of degradation is

Acknowledgements

This work was partly funded by the AICTE Career Award Grant for Young Teachers (2000) to Dr. Suparna Mukherji. The authors would like to thank Dr. P.K. Pant (Manager-Safety and Environment, Enron) for providing the sediment samples and Prof. G.K. Lahiri, Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay, for his suggestions in developing the techniques for quantification and characterization of residual oil.

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Bioresource Technology

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Methods

Results and discussion

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

References (16)

Studies on relative capabilities of bacterial and yeast isolates from tropical soil in degrading crude oil

Waste Manage.

Osmotolerance and hydrocarbon degradation by a genetically engineered microbial consortium

Bioresour. Technol.

Long-term environmental impact of oil spills

Spill Sci. Technol. Bull.

Potential health effects of gasoline and its constituents: a review of current literature (1990–1997) on toxicology data

Environ. Health Perspect.

Degradation of n-Hexadecane and its metabolites by Pseudomonas aeruginosa under microaerobic and anaerobic denitrifying conditions

Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water

In situ analysis of denitrifying toluene and m-xylene degrading bacteria in a diesel fuel contaminated laboratory aquifer column

Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

Cited by (94)

Continuous bioreactors enable high-level bioremediation of diesel-contaminated seawater at low and mesophilic temperatures using Antarctic bacterial consortia: Pollutant analysis and microbial community composition

Slurry phase biodegradation of heavy oily sludge and evidence of asphaltene biotransformation

Characterization of petroleum degrading bacteria and its optimization conditions on effective utilization of petroleum hydrocarbons

Characterization and biodegradability assessment of water-soluble fraction of oily sludge using stir bar sorptive extraction and GCxGC-TOF MS

Desorption kinetics of soil sorbed carbazole, fluorene, and dibenzothiophene by P. aeruginosa RS1 from single and multicomponent systems and elucidation of their interaction effects

Microbial remediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in liquid wastes