Polyurethane nanofiber membranes immobilized with Bacillus altitudinis LS-1 for bioremediation of diesel-contaminated wastewater

Abstract

Oil pollution from the petroleum industry is a growing problem, especially in terms of the harm it causes to the aquatic environment, which puts humans and other aquatic life in grave danger. As immobilized carriers for the removal of diesel, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanofiber membranes and co-blended nano-hydroxyapatite modified thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU/nHA) nanofiber membranes are reasonably priced, non-toxic, and non-polluting. The adhesion and colonization of the bacterial cells to these carriers were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Gas chromatography was used to measure the bioremediation effectiveness, and the results after 3 days of remediation revealed a substantial improvement in the removal of hydrocarbons by immobilization compared to free bacteria. With an initial concentration of 3 g/L diesel, the TPU/1.5HA-bacteria system enhanced the removal of diesel the most (20.64 ± 0.40%), followed by TPU/1HA-bacteria (17.49 ± 0.08%), TPU/0.5HA-bacteria (11.97 ± 0.40%), and TPU-bacteria (4.69 ± 0.13%), in that order. Within three days, these scaffolders had completely absorbed the spilled diesel. There haven't been any studies done yet on the removal of diesel using various carriers loaded with Bacillus altitudinis LS-1. This study demonstrated that TPU-based electrostatic spinning films can be used as bio-carriers for hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, enhancing the bioremediation of oil-contaminated water.