Oil biodegradation studies with an immobilized bacterial consortium in plant biomass for the construction of bench-scale bioreactor

Abstract

Increasing exploration of natural sources and the development of new oil-derived technologies have caused environmental contamination. Thus, among the bioremediation strategies, biostimulation and bioaugmentation techniques have been the most used in the current literature. This study aimed to build a bench-scale bioreactor to promote degradation used ship engine lubricating oil using an immobilized bacterial consortium in Salvinia sp. (SS). For this purpose, bacterial strains were isolated from the hydrocarbon-contaminated moist soil in the marginal at Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, followed by isolation, identification of microorganisms, and biodegradation tests. Then these microorganisms were immobilized in SS biomass. The bacterial consortium underwent biodegradation tests and bioreactor biodegradation on a bench scale. According to the results, the consortium of Bacteria like Bacillus could biodegrade 52.9% of the lubricating oil and 0.027 d − 1 degradation rate.