Biodegradation of BTEX by indigenous microorganisms isolated from UCG project area, South Sumatra

Abstract

Recently Indonesia is conducting Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project in South Sumatra for power generation.The potential of negative impacts from UCG on groundwater and the broader environment can not be ignored since past similar projects were often confronted with pollution isues of BTEX and PAHs due to condensation of tar-loaded gas. This study focuses on finding indigenous microorganisms capable of BTEX degradation and evaluate their biodegradability. Several microorganisms were successfully isolated and screened. Pseudomonas putida and Bacillus cereus were chosen for this bioremediation study since the bacteria were predominant and highly viable on the screening test. The BTEX degradation has been studied in single component using single and mixed bacterial cultures in the concentration range of 250-500 ppm. The experimental results show that biodegradation of BTEX by P. putida ranged from 61.4-70.2% and by B.cereus ranging 63.9-74.7 % at initial BTEX concentration of 500 ppm.Meanwhile, consortium of both isolates has the highest percentage of BTEX biodegradation (67.8-79,8%) during 14 days of retention time.The findings reveal that indigenous bacteria of P. putida dan B. cereus exhibit the potential to be used for decontamination of BTEX as an anticipated mitigation for potential pollution coming from the UCG project.