Abstract
Perhaps there is no any other raw material that has impacted so much, and found wide application on human civilization than petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC). The paradox is that it is this same black gold that threatens human environment. PHC pollution in the environment, as well as the importance of natu-ral interactions amongst living entities to arrest the problems hitherto caused by oil spills are hereby examined. Biological approaches to pollution remediation, which include phytoremediation, bioreme-diation, and application of biosurfactant, are discussed. Two angles of approach to bioremediation of PHC spills in the soil are identified; the bioaugmentation and biostimulation. The use of surfactants of microbial origin has been found to be environmentally friendly, naturally selective and stable at elevated temperatures, PH and salt concentration. Similarly, genetic methods have been found to be overwhelmingly promising in detecting as well as assessing PHC soil pollution, and clean up. Key words: Oil spill, bioremediation, phytoremediation, biosurfactants.
Highlights
Natural processes, such as volcanic eruptions and erosion, produce pollution, sometimes quite acutely, but the primary environmental concern today is with anthropogenic pollution
Oil spills may occur for numerous reasons such as equipment failure, disasters, deliberate acts, or human error (Anderson and LaBelle, 2000)
It is often assumed that only those oil spills, which occur near coastlines, cause any damage
Summary
Perhaps there is no any other raw material that has impacted so much, and found wide application on human civilization than petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC). The paradox is that it is this same black gold that threatens human environment. PHC pollution in the environment, as well as the importance of natural interactions amongst living entities to arrest the problems hitherto caused by oil spills are hereby examined. Biological approaches to pollution remediation, which include phytoremediation, bioremediation, and application of biosurfactant, are discussed. Two angles of approach to bioremediation of PHC spills in the soil are identified; the bioaugmentation and biostimulation. Genetic methods have been found to be overwhelmingly promising in detecting as well as assessing PHC soil pollution, and clean up
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