Biodegradation of benzene toluene ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) is a slow and complex process. However, many microbial organisms have been shown to possess the capacity to biodegrade various components of a hydrocarbon. This study was aimed at investigating the role of biosurfactant on soil polluted with these monoaromatics. Samples were collected and analyzed using standard techniques. The biodegradation set up was carried out using five earthen pots; each containing unpolluted soil, polluted soil alone, polluted soil + poultry wastes, polluted soil + HBB5 biosurfactant and polluted soil + poultry wastes + HBB5 biosurfactant. The biodegradation of BTEX were periodically monitored every seven days for 28 days using gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer coupled with head space (GC-MS-HS). The respective initial and final concentrations of BTEX (ppm) were as follows; 0.7936 and 0.2063, 0.9733 and 0.0231, 0.9526 and <0.0001, 0.9241 and <0.0001 with degradation efficiencies of 74.0%, 97.6%, 100% and 100% for polluted soil alone, polluted soil + poultry wastes, polluted soil + HBB5 biosurfactant and polluted soil + poultry wastes + HBB5 biosurfactant respectively. The microbial counts increased greatly, and the concentrations of the limiting nutrients reduced during the experimental period. The effective treatments for bioremediation increased in the following order: polluted soil alone < polluted soil + poultry waste < polluted soil + HBB5 biosurfactant < polluted soil + poultry waste + HBB5 biosurfactant. Results clearly showed that application of HBB5 biosurfactant only or in combination with poultry wastes has the ability to degrade ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) and thus, can be employed in the clean-up of crude oil contaminated soil.
The comparative study of poultry wastes- and HBB5 biosurfactant-mediated polyaromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation in sediment polluted with crude oil were investigated. The experiments were carried out for a period of 28 days by monitoring pH, nitrate, phosphate, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and microbiological parameters using standard procedures. The pH values obtained ranged between 6.21 and 6.93 in days 1 and 28 for the most effective treatment recipes. Generally, there was depletion in the concentrations of nitrate and phosphate for all set ups, but the most effective recipe witnessed highest reduction. For the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the recipe with highest limiting nutrients depletion also recorded the most hydrocarbon loss, and yet highest increase in density of hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria and fungi. The sample containing polluted sediment + poultry wastes + HBB5 biosurfactant recorded PAH values of 1932.6472ppm on day 1 and 481.2272ppm on day 28. Total hydrocarbon-utilizing bacterial counts ranged from 1.48×104 cfu/g to 9.70×106 cfu/g, while hydrocarbon-utilizing fungal counts ranged between 2.30×103 cfu/g and 3.90×105 cfu/g. From the results obtained, poultry wastes combined with HBB5 biosurfactant recorded the highest efficiency in the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments, and HBB5 biosurfactant in isolation recorded higher degradation efficiency for polyaromatic hydrocarbons than the degradation effect mediated by poultry wastes alone. It is therefore recommended that a combination of surface-active agent, nutrient amendment source and viable microbial biomass be adopted and employed as potent recipe for the degradation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in crude oil-contaminated sediments.
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