Diesel in Antarctica and a Bibliometric Study on Its Indigenous Microorganisms as Remediation Agent

Abstract

Diesel acts as a main energy source to complement human activities in Antarctica. However, the increased expedition in Antarctica has threatened the environment as well as its living organisms. While more efforts on the use of renewable energy are being done, most activities in Antarctica still depend heavily on the use of diesel. Diesel contaminants in their natural state are known to be persistent, complex and toxic. The low temperature in Antarctica worsens these issues, making pollutants more significantly toxic to their environment and indigenous organisms. A bibliometric analysis had demonstrated a gradual increase in the number of studies on the microbial hydrocarbon remediation in Antarctica over the year. It was also found that these studies were dominated by those that used bacteria as remediating agents, whereas very little focus was given on fungi and microalgae. This review presents a summary of the collective and past understanding to the current findings of Antarctic microbial enzymatic degradation of hydrocarbons as well as its genotypic adaptation to the extreme low temperature.

The Use of Response Surface Methodology as a Statistical Tool for the Optimisation of Waste and Pure Canola Oil Biodegradation by Antarctic Soil Bacteria

“…strain NJ41 and Shewanella sp. strain NJ49 (Antarctic Ocean) [56].…”

Effects of Diesel, Heavy Metals and Plastics Pollution on Penguins in Antarctica: A Review

“…The harmful effects caused by pollutants towards the penguins vary according to the route of exposure for the different types of pollution. For diesel and heavy metal pollutants, bioaccumulation and direct exposure such as ingestion or direct contact can pose harm to the penguins [ 4 , 49 ]. Even though microplastics leach toxic chemical compounds into the environment, it is usually more harmful when the penguins physically ingest microplastics, which can cause suffocation, choking and stomach congestion as a result of plastics entanglement [ 50 ].…”

“…Generally, diesel is composed of a complex hydrocarbon mixture obtained from fractional distillation and catalytic cracking of petroleum crude oil [ 55 ]. The main complex mixture of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in diesel consists of 25% to 50% of alkanes, 20% to 40% of cycloalkanes and 10% to 57% of aromatic contents [ 4 , 56 ]. Depending on the specifications, diesel products are differentiated by several key characteristics, such as density, viscosity, flash point, pour point, cetane number/calculated cetane index, water content and sulfur content.…”

“…The number of visitors to the continent from around the world showed an exponential increase from 35,000 visitors in 2012–2013 to 73,991 visitors in 2019–2020 [ 1 , 2 ]. With this drastic increase in visitor numbers, the risks to the Antarctic environment also grows proportionally, thus increasing concerns regarding pollution in the continent [ 3 , 4 ].…”

Statistical Optimisation of Diesel Biodegradation at Low Temperatures by an Antarctic Marine Bacterial Consortium Isolated from Non-Contaminated Seawater

“…This is due to Antarctica's greater isolation, the general lack of large-scale response facilities and logistics and the distances required to deliver needed equipment and personnel to any spill location. The sources of hydrocarbons related to anthropogenic activities in Antarctica include fossil fuel combustion, fuel storage, accidental oil spills and sewage discharge [12][13][14][15]. Shipping accidents and the ship-to-shore refuelling activities necessary for the running of Antarctic programs have proven to be the most hazardous activities, as they can potentially lead to very large spills affecting both marine and terrestrial environments [10,16].…”