Biodegradation of High Concentrations of Aliphatic Hydrocarbons in Soil from a Petroleum Refinery: Implications for Applicability of New Actinobacterial Strains

Abstract

At present, there is great demand for new resistant and metabolically active strains of biodegrading bacteria capable of degrading high concentrations of petroleum pollutants. In this study, we undertook a series of pot-based biodegradation experiments on soil from a petroleum refinery lagoon heavily polluted with aliphatic hydrocarbons (81.6 ± 2.5 g·kg−1 dry weight) and metals. Periodical bioaugmentation with either a mixture of isolated degraders identified as Bacillus sp. and Ochrobactrum sp. or biostimulation with nutrient medium, singly or in combination, did not produce any significant decrease in hydrocarbons, even after 455 days. Inoculation with Gordonia rubripertincta CWB2 and Rhodococcus erythropolis S43 in iron-limited media, however, resulted in a significant decrease in hydrocarbons 45 days after bioaugmentation. These actinobacterial strains, therefore, show significant potential for bioremediation of such highly polluted soils.

Corksorb Enhances Alkane Degradation by Hydrocarbonoclastic Bacteria

“…Bacteria from Ochrobactrum , Gordonia , Pseudomonas , and Microbacterium genera that were found in the enrichment cultures are known for their capability to degrade hydrocarbons, and their presence in hydrocarbon-contaminated environments has also been reported ( Franzetti et al, 2009 ; Arulazhagan and Vasudevan, 2011 ; Brzeszcz and Kaszycki, 2018 ; Trögl et al, 2018 ). However, these bacteria were not detected in the first experiment.…”

Hydrocarbon Removal by Two Differently Developed Microbial Inoculants and Comparing Their Actions with Biostimulation Treatment

“…The mixed culture C2 produced a significant increase in n-alkane and PAH biodegradation efficiency and outperformed the expectations placed upon it. The proper selection of bacterial strains is always a crucial step, and well-known hydrocarbon degraders may succeed or fail depending on the environment they are introduced to [11,32]. In favorable conditions, bioaugmentation with even a single strain resulted in the effective removal of hydrocarbons [61] and even within one species, one could find a difference among individual strains in this regard [62].…”

“…Bioremediation of soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons is usually based upon two approaches: biostimulation (an addition of the appropriate nutrients and/or electron acceptors to stimulate the degradation capacity of the indigenous soil microorganisms) and bioaugmentation (an inoculation of soil with high numbers of autochthonous or allochthonous hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms) [6]. The results obtained in different studies advocate the application of either the former [7][8][9] or the latter method [10][11][12]. Numerous microorganisms possess an ability to use hydrocarbons as the sole source of carbon and energy, but only representatives of a few genera, notably Mycolicibacterium (formerly included in Mycobacterium genus), Pseudomonas, and Rhodococcus, are capable of degrading both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons [13].…”

Bioremediation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) by Bioaugmentation and Biostimulation in Water with Floating Oil Spill Containment Booms as Bioreactor Basin

“…Two properties in particular are of interest in this case; the first is number and variety of degradative pathways for hydrocarbons, and second the development of secondary metabolites such as biosurfactants and siderophores. These properties enable actinobacteria to function under a wide range of environmental conditions and, by secreting metabolites, modify or even alter local conditions [ 92 ]. Figure 8 illustrate the types of bioremediation.…”