Oil-degrading Bacteria Research Articles

The effect of added organic matter on the soil formation of oil-based drill cutting pyrolysis residue.

In order to explore the effects of added organic matters on the soil formation process of oil-based drill cutting pyrolysis residue, two experiment groups (pure and adding) were studied to indicate the soil microbial community and the function of nitrogen cycling. Samples were collected in the third and fourth years based on the plant growth. The 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology and PICRUSt were used to study microbial communities and the function of nitrogen cycling. The results showed that MND1 (2.5-4.5%), Sphingomonas (1.4-2.4%), and other typical oil-degrading bacteria were discovered. The diversity of the microbial community decreased with the duration of the experiment. However, it was higher than that of the background soil. The relative abundance of microbial nitrogen dissimilation reduction (0.9-1.0‰) was the highest among the two experiment groups and the background soil. The second and third were denitrification and nitrogen fixation. Nitrification gene abundance was the lowest among the five main steps of nitrogen cycling. The addition of organic matters could improve soil formation of pyrolysis residues. This study provides scientific data for pyrolysis residue to restore soil functions.

Indigenous oil-degrading bacteria more efficient in soil bioremediation than microbial consortium and active even in super oil-saturated soils.

A microbial consortium of the hydrocarbonoclastic bacterial species, comprising Actinotalea ferrariae, Arthrobacter ginsengisoli, Dietzia cinnamea, Dietzia papillomatosis, and Pseudomonas songnenensis, isolated from oil-saturated desert soil did not consume more oil in batch cultures than the individual species with the maximum oil consumption. In oil-polluted desert soil microcosms, the rate of oil removal in the soil samples bioaugmented with the microbial consortium was similar to the rate of oil removal in the unbioaugmented ones through a 6-month bioremediation experiment. Although the composition of hydrocarbonoclastic bacterial communities in the unbioaugmented and bioaugmented soil samples was different, the predominant bacterial species during most of the months were the same. Toward the end of the bioremediation experiment, Ar. ginsengisoli prevailed in both soil samples, suggesting its important role in oil removal. Self-cleaning proceeded in desert soil samples artificially polluted with 1, 10, 20, and 30% of crude oil and incubated at 30 °C for 6 months. Oil was removed effectively at rates reaching 73.6 and 69.3% in the soils polluted with 1 and 10% oil concentrations, respectively, and reached 50% in desert soils polluted with 20 and 30% oil concentrations. The bacterial numbers increased in all soil samples from hundreds of thousands per gram of soil samples at time zero to millions and tens of millions per gram of soil samples after 6 months. It was concluded that bioaugmenting oil-polluted soil samples with microbial consortium of hydrocarbonoclastic bacterial species with high oil removal potential did not drastically enhance oil bioremediation and that even in super oil-saturated soils, indigenous oil-degrading bacteria will prevail and effectively contribute to oil removal from the surrounding environment.

Hydrocarbon degradation test among the microbial community in oil-contaminated soil of power generators in Kerbala city, Iraq

The present study was designed to isolate the microbial community from oil-contaminated sites and other non-oil-contaminated sites which served as control samples in Kerbala city. In addition to test the effect of hydrocarbons on the growth of some types of bacteria. Bacterial genera and species were identified based on their growth on nutrient agar and blood agar as well as biochemical tests. According to the high bacterial growth rate on crude oil, 5 bacterial isolates were selected for further study. Growth of some identified bacteria in Minimal salt medium amended with hydrocarbon as the sole carbon source was investigated. Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pantoea sp., Pasteurella pneumonia / haemolytica, Chryseobacterium meningosepticum, Bordetella sp., and Enterobacter cloacae were the dominant phyla among all the soil samples. Although all tested bacteria were able to grow on mineral liquid media, P. aeruginosa had the most capacity for growth in this media. The present study showed that selected bacteria were able to grow and utilize MSM that contains different concentrations of gasoline. From this data, it can be concluded that oil-degrading bacteria are abundant in soils contaminated with spent oil. Consequently, these data suggest that these microbes could be useful for their application in the biodegradation of contaminated soils.

Microbial Communities of Seawater and Coastal Soil of Russian Arctic Region and Their Potential for Bioremediation from Hydrocarbon Pollutants.

The development of Arctic regions leads to pollution of marine and coastal environments with oil and petroleum products. The purpose of this work was to determine the diversity of microbial communities in seawater, as well as in littoral and coastal soil, and the potential ability of their members to degrade hydrocarbons degradation and to isolate oil-degrading bacteria. Using high-throughput sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, the dominance of bacteria in polar communities was shown, the proportion of archaea did not exceed 2% (of the total number of sequences in the libraries). Archaea inhabiting the seawater belonged to the genera Nitrosopumilus and Nitrosoarchaeum and to the Nitrososphaeraceae family. In the polluted samples, members of the Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Actinomycetes classes predominated; bacteria of the classes Bacteroidia, Clostridia, Acidimicrobiia, Planctomycetia, and Deltaproteobacteria were less represented. Using the iVikodak program and KEGG database, the potential functional characteristics of the studied prokaryotic communities were predicted. Bacteria were potentially involved in nitrogen and sulfur cycles, in degradation of benzoate, terephthalate, fatty acids, and alkanes. A total of 19 strains of bacteria of the genera Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Oceanisphaera, Shewanella, Paeniglutamicibacter, and Rhodococcus were isolated from the studied samples. Among them were psychrotolerant and psychrophilic bacteria growing in seawater and utilizing crude oil, diesel fuel, and motor oils. The data obtained suggest that the studied microbial communities could participate in the removal of hydrocarbons from arctic seawater and coastal soils and suggested the possibility of the application of the isolates for the bioaugmentation of oil-contaminated polar environments.

Degradation characteristics of crude oil by a consortium of bacteria in the existence of chlorophenol.

In order to enhance the degradation effect of microorganisms on crude oil in the existence of chlorophenol compounds, oil-degrading bacteria C4 (Alcaligenes faecails), C5 (Bacillus sp.) and 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) degrading bacteria L3 (Bacillus marisflavi), L4 (Bacillus aquimaris) were isolated to construct a highly efficient consortium named (C4C5 + L3L4). When the compound bacteria agent combination by VC4: VC5: VL3: VL4 = 1:2:2:1, the crude oil degradation efficiency of 7days was stable at 50.63% ~ 55.43% under different conditions. Degradation mechanism was analyzed by FTIR, GC-MS and IC technology and the following conclusions showed that in the system of adding consortium (C4C5 + L3L4), the heavy components were converted into saturated and unsaturated components. The bacterial consortium could first degrade medium and long chain alkanes into short chain hydrocarbons and then further degrade. And the dechlorination efficiency of 2,4-DCP in the degradation system reached 73.83%. The results suggested that the potential applicability and effectiveness of the selected bacteria consortium for the remediation of oil-contaminated waterorsoil with the existence of chlorophenol compound.

Modification of kapok cotton fibres into porous cellulose triacetate beads for oil spill remediation

Marine oil spills have been widely reported, and bioremediation is proposed to be an environmentally friendly approach to clean these spills. However, maintaining a high biomass of oil-degrading bacteria has proved challenging. Here, a carrier that enables simultaneous bacterial immobilisation and oil absorption is proposed as a solution. Porous cellulose triacetate beads (PCTBs) derived from cellulose triacetate powder were obtained through the acetylation of kapok fibres. This study revealed, that 12.5 and 16.67% w/v PCTBs precipitated in distilled water showed crude oil absorbency of 2.4850 ± 0.1326 and 1.9852 ± 0.2343 g/g, respectively. Reusability tests of PCTBs showed promising results with no reduction in oil absorption after five reabsorption cycles. Successful immobilisation of the oil-degrading bacteria Acinetobacter venetianus on PCTBs was achieved, and enumeration of bacteria showed no statistically significant differences compared with those on kapok fibres despite the raw fibres having a larger surface area. The scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that A. venetianus adhered to the outer and inner walls of the beads through secreted exopolysaccharides. PCTBs with oil-degrading bacteria are potentially able to absorb and degrade oil simultaneously, thus highlighting the novelty of a working alternative for sustainable oil spill mitigation.

Effect of bioremediation technique on engineering properties of crude oil-contaminated soil

Crude oil plays an important role in maintaining national energy security and economic development, with the expansion of population, expanding income, and rapid urbanization. However, in industrial regions, crude oil leaks and penetration into the soil can alter soil engineering features and trigger environmental disasters. Also, restoring contaminated sites to their original condition and reusing contaminated material in construction fields after treatment necessitates remediation procedures that are both environmentally benign and geotechnically sound. Bioremediation is an effective, low cost & no harmful side effect technique will be used in this research study. In this study, two different types of soils from different locations such as poorly graded sand and highly plastic clayey soil are artificially contaminated with crude oil at 4%, 8% and 12% with the dried weight of soil. As the purpose of bioremediation, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus (MTCC-2409) bacterial strain used as a reference of oil-degrading bacteria and the other strains are identified from the natural soils by biological study, which have the capability to degrade crude oil. In the present study, for better understand to change in geotechnical properties, Atterberg limits, compaction, unconfined compressive strength and permeability test were conducted and from the results comparison is to be done for these strains. Also, gravimetric analysis were used as determination of total petroleum hydrocarbon. Biofilms developed in the presence of crude oil acquire more biomass and have larger thickness than biofilms formed in the presence of glucose as the sole carbon source, according to microscopic research. Generally, the application of bio-treated soil as utilized in the construction of liners, road construction, manufacturing portland cement, and erosion control projects.

Potential Application of Biosurfactant-Producing Bacteria for Bioremediation of Oil Polluted Marine Intertidal Sediments

The removal of oil contaminants in marine intertidal sediments under cold climate is an urgent issue. Although the bioavailability of petroleum hydrocarbons decreases at low temperatures, biosurfactants can promote oil biodegradation. In this study, characteristics of biosurfactants produced by cold-adapted oil-degrading bacteria Planococcus sp. XW-1 were studied. Adding the XW-1 biosurfactant could effectively facilitate the solubility of phenanthrene, pyrene, diesel oil, and crude oil. The solubilization was limited by the number of rings and the molecular weight (WSRphenanthrene = 0.0234; WSRpyrene = 0.0165; WSRdiesel oil = 0.0027; WSRcrude oil = 0.0015). Additional biosurfactants significantly washed out crude oil adsorbed to the sand (reduction from 17.1%, 22.7% to 87.9% and 94.28% in 24 h). With the increase in particle size, the removal efficiency increased from 87.9% to 94.28%. After the addition of biosurfactant, the effect of degradation increased by 20% in 20 days. The results suggest that the biosurfactant-producing bacteria Planococcus sp. XW-1 is a promising candidate used in the in situ bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated intertidal sediment.

The effect of petroleum hydrocarbons concentration on competition between oil-degrading bacteria and indigenous compost microorganisms in petroleum sludge bioremediation

The influence of the concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) on competition between isolated oil-degrading bacteria (ODB) and finished compost microorganisms (FCM) was investigated in composting bioreactors over 12 weeks period. First, the batch tests were performed in Bushnell–Haas medium (BHM) to evaluate the biodegradation activities of six native ODB isolated from petroleum sludge (PS). Then, the ODB were added to the composting bioreactors containing 10 and 30 g/kg of TPHs. Based on the BHM results, the highest degradation efficiency of crude oil (1%–3% concentration) were determined to be 72%–75% at pH 7 after 7 days. In the composting bioreactors containing only the ODB, TPHs removal rates were 86%–92% after 12 weeks. Although the lower degradation efficiency of TPHs (73%–89%) in the bioreactors containing both the FCM and ODB indicated a slight competition between them, the ODB were still effective in the presence of the FCM especially at greater concentrations of TPHs. Despite the fact that the addition of finished compost (FC) to the PS changed the microbial composition in the composting bioreactors; the microbial populations exhibited little variation during the process. This study indicated that the isolated ODB, alone or in the presence of the FCM, effectively degraded the PS in the composting process. • Six strains of oil-degrading bacteria were isolated from petroleum sludge. • The consortium of the strains effectively degraded petroleum hydrocarbons. • The consortium efficiency declined in the presence of compost microorganisms. • Despite the observed competition, the strains were more effective at higher TPHs levels. • The microbial composition did not changed significantly over the composting process.

Best available technique for the recovery of marine benthic communities in a gravel shore after the oil spill: A mesocosm-based sediment triad assessment

Ecotoxicological effects of spilled oils are well documented, but study of recovery of marine benthic communities is limited. Long-term recovery of hard bottom communities during physical and biological remediations after a spill was monitored. A 60-day experiment was conducted using a mesocosm with monitoring of eight endpoints by use of the sediment quality triad (SQT). First, physical treatment of hot water + high pressure flushing maximally removed residual oils (max=93%), showing the greatest recovery among SQT variables (mean=72%). Physical cleanup generally involved adverse effects such as depression of the microphytobenthic community during the initial period. Next, biological treatments, such as fertilizer, emulsifier, enzyme and augmentation of the microbes, all facilitated removal of oil (max=66%) enhancing ecological recovery. Analysis of the microbiome confirmed that oil-degrading bacteria, such as Dietzia sp. and Rosevarius sp. were present. A mixed bioremediation, including fertilizer + multi-enzyme + microbes (FMeM) maximized efficacy of remediation as indicated by SQT parameters (mean=47%). Natural attenuation with “no treatment” showed comparable recovery to other remediations. Considering economic availability, environmental performance, and technical applicability, of currently available techniques, combined treatments of physical removal via hand wiping followed by FMeM could be most effective for recovery of the rocky shore benthic community.

Advances in Biochar and PGPR engineering system for hydrocarbon degradation: A promising strategy for environmental remediation

In soil, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have resulted in severe environmental deterioration, compromised soil characteristics, and negatively affect all life forms, including humans. Developing appropriate and effective clean-up technology is crucial in solving the contamination issues. The traditional methods to treat PHAs contaminated soil are less effective and not ecofriendly. Bioremediation, based on bioaugmentation and biostimulation approaches, is a promising strategy for remediating contaminated soil. The use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as a bioaugmentation tool is an effective technique for treating hydrocarbon contaminated soil. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are group of rhizospheric bacteria that colonize the roots of plants. Biochar is a carbon-rich residue, which acts as a source of nutrients, and is also a bio-stimulating candidate to enhance the activities of oil-degrading bacteria. The application of biochar as a nutrient source to bioremediate oil-contaminated soil is a promising approach for reducing PHA contamination. Biochar induces polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) immobilization and removes the contaminants by various methods such as ion exchange electrostatic attractions and volatilization. In comparison, PGPR produce multiple types of biosurfactants to enhance the adsorption of hydrocarbons and mineralize the hydrocarbons with the conversion to less toxic substances. During the last few decades, the use of PGPR and biochar in the bioremediation of hydrocarbons-contaminated soil has gained greater importance. Therefore, developing and applying a PGPR-biochar-based remediating system can help manage hazardous PAH contaminated soil. The goal of this review paper is to (i) provide an overview of the PGPR mechanism for degradation of hydrocarbons and (ii) discuss the contaminants absorbent by biochar and its characteristics (iii) critically discuss the combined effect of PGPR and biochar for degradation of hydrocarbons by decreasing their mobility and bioavailability. The present review focuses on techniques of bioaugmentation and biostimulation based on use of PGPR and biochar in remediating the oil-contaminated soil.

A tradeoff between physical encounters and consumption determines an optimal droplet size for microbial degradation of dispersed oil

Immiscible hydrocarbons occur in the ocean water column as droplets of varying diameters. Although microbial oil degradation is a central process in the remediation of hydrocarbon pollution in marine environments, the relationship between droplet size distribution and oil degradation rates by bacteria remains unclear, with a conflicting history of laboratory studies. Despite this knowledge gap, the use of chemical dispersants in oil spill response and mitigation is based on the rationale that increasing the surface-area-to-volume ratio of droplets will enhance net bacterial biodegradation rates. We demonstrate that this intuitive argument does not apply to most natural marine environments, where the abundance of oil droplets is much lower than in laboratory experiments and droplet-bacteria encounters are the limiting factor. We present a mechanistic encounter-consumption model to predict the characteristic time for oil degradation by marine bacteria as a function of the initial oil concentration, the distribution of droplet sizes, and the initial abundance of oil-degrading bacteria. We find that the tradeoff between the encounter time and the consumption time leads to an optimal droplet size larger than the average size generated by the application of dispersants. Reducing droplet size below this optimum can increase the persistence of oil droplets in the environment from weeks to years. The new perspective granted by this biophysical model of biodegradation that explicitly accounts for oil–microbe encounters changes our understanding of biodegradation particularly in the deep ocean, where droplets are often small and oil concentrations low, and explains degradation rate discrepancies between laboratory and field studies.

Bioprospecting and Molecular Identification of Used Transformer Oil-Degrading Bacteria for Bioplastics Production

One of the major impediments to the commercialization of biodegradable plastic is the high cost of substrate. Consequently, there is a continuous search for effective microorganisms and cheaper carbon substrates to reduce the high production cost. In this study, waste transformer oil-degrading bacteria were isolated from soil, wastewater, and sediment samples, using a mineral salt medium (MSM) supplemented with 1% waste transformer oil as the sole carbon source. The isolates were screened for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production using Nile red staining and fluorescence microscopy. PHA granules accumulation was confirmed using transmission electron microscopy. Oil degradation analysis was accomplished using solvent extraction and gravimetric methods whereas, the bacteria were identified using 16S DNA sequence homology. A total of 62 transformer oil-degrading bacteria were isolated, out of which 16 (26%) showed positive results for Nile red fluorescence microscopy. The identified organisms belong to four different taxonomic genera of Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Proteus, and Serratia. The percentage of oil degradation observed among the different isolates ranged between 19.58% and 57.51%. Analysis of the PHA extracted from the selected isolate revealed the presence of medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHA). The findings of this work have further highlighted the diversity of the bacteria capable of utilizing waste streams such as waste transformer oil. Consequently, the isolates can be explored as agents of converting waste transformer oil into bioplastics.

Biodegradation of crude oil by a moderately haloalkaliphilic Acinetobacter strain

Bioremediation of crude oil (or petroleum) pollution in the saline-alkali environment is challenging due to the lack of halotolerant and alkali tolerant oil-degrading bacteria. It is shown here that a newly isolated Acinetobacter strain D2 able to degrade crude oil was moderately haloalkaliphilic. Physiological characterization showed that the optimal crude oil degradation conditions for D2 strain occurred at pH = 9 and NaCl concentration of 2% w/v. Moreover, D2 can tolerate pH 11 and NaCl concentration of 8% w/v. Kinetic analysis indicated that crude oil (0.2% and 0.5% w/v) biodegradation by D2 followed the first-order kinetic model, with the k constant estimated as 0.089–0.111 d−1 and the half-life period of petroleum degradation as 6.24–7.79 d. The results of the gas chromatographic analysis revealed that strain D2 could degrade most saturated hydrocarbons, with higher removal efficiencies for shorter-chain alkanes. Strain D2 can also remove aromatic hydrocarbons with an average efficiency of 33.4%. Combined, these results demonstrated that a moderately haloalkaliphilic Acinetobacter strain can be a suitable candidate for bioremediation of oil-contaminated saline soil and oilfield produced water.

Biological treatment of produced water: A comprehensive review and metadata analysis

A metadata analysis was conducted to analyze the impact of several operating conditions on the biological removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from produced water (PW). Operating conditions including temperature, salinity, oxygen availability, treatment technology, microorganism type, and treatment scale were investigated. No limiting maximum COD elimination capacity was reported in the literature, signaling the need to experiment with higher COD concentrations at reduced retention times to identify if such a limit exists. The maximum recorded COD elimination capacity of PW was achieved under low salinity and aerobic conditions in a membrane bioreactor using oil-degradation bacteria on a laboratory scale. Suspended growth exhibited maximum COD removal efficiency, and membrane bioreactors were the most studied technique and achieved the highest performance. Superior COD removal efficiency was realized under hypersaline conditions; however, the COD removal efficiency under freshwater conditions was higher than that under hypersaline conditions.

Temperate Coastal Microbial Communities Rapidly Respond to Low Concentrations of Partially Weathered Diesel

Diesel is frequently encountered in coastal ecosystems due to land run-off from road surfaces. The current study investigates how partially weathered diesel at environmentally relevant concentrations, as may be seen during a run-off event, affect coastal microbial communities. A mesocosm experiment using seawater from the Bedford Basin, Nova Scotia, was followed for 72 h after the addition of partially weathered diesel. Sequencing data suggests partially weathered diesel acts quickly to alter the prokaryotic community, as both opportunistic (Vibrio and Lentibacter) and oil-degrading (Colwellia, Sulfitobacter, and Pseudoalteromonas) bacteria proliferated after 24 h in comparison to the control. In addition, total prokaryotes seemed to recover in abundance after 24 h, where eukaryotes only ceased to decrease slightly at 72 h, likely because of an inability to adapt to the oil-laden conditions, unlike the prokaryotes. Considering there were no highly volatile components (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) present in the diesel when the communities were exposed, the results indicate that even a relatively small concentration of diesel run-off can cause a drastic change to the microbial community under low energy conditions. Higher energy conditions due to wave action may mitigate the response of the microbial communities by dilution and additional weathering of the diesel.

The Occurrence of Crude Oil-Degrading Bacteria in Some Sponges Collected at the Persian Gulf: Ecological Importance and Biotechnological Application

The Persian Gulf is the most critical aquatic environment in the world. The relationship between marine animals and degrading bacteria not well understand. The purpose of this investigation is the description of symbiont crude oil-degrading bacteria in some sponges in the Persian Gulf. Marine sponges were collected from four stations at the Persian Gulf. Symbiont crude oil-degrading bacteria were isolated from marine sponges by enrichment in ONR7a medium after four subcultures. The isolated bacteria were identified by biochemical and molecular methods. The degradation of crude oil was determined by spectrophotometric, gravimetric, and GC-FID methods for each strain. In this study, 38 crude oil-degrading bacteria were isolated from 8 sponge samples. The efficient strains that had the highest crude oil degradation belonged to the genus Cellulosimicrobium, Shewanella, Alcanivorax and Cobetia. The GC-FID analysis confirmed that the strains IAUK3532, IAUK3537 and IAUK3519 exhibit maximum degradation of crude oil (respectively, 94.5%, 88.13% and 85%). It is observed that when the concentration of crude oil increased, the degradation decreased. It can be concluded from these results that the microbes that coexist in the sponges located at the Persian Gulf can degrade crude oil. These symbionts crude oil-degrading bacteria can be applied to decrease the oil pollution in the Persian Gulf. Also, the symbiotic relationship between sponges and crude oil-degrading bacteria increases sponge survival and contributes to the development of their colonies in the Persian Gulf.

Biodiversity and degradation potential of oil-degrading bacteria isolated from sediments of hydrothermal and non-hydrothermal areas of the Southwest Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge.

In this study, sediments from eight sites were collected from hydrothermal areas (e.g., the Tiancheng, Tianzuo, and Longqi hydrothermal areas) and non-hydrothermal area on the Southwest Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge. Using crude oil as the only carbon and energy source, 162 strains of culturable oil-degrading bacteria were isolated and obtained. The rate of oil degradation of the consortia was 39.48-46.00% in hydrothermal and non-hydrothermal areas. High-throughput sequencing found that the alpha diversity indices (e.g., Shannon and Simpson) of the communities in hydrothermal areas were higher than those in non-hydrothermal area. The species diversities of the oil-degrading bacteria were different among different hydrothermal areas. The composition of the oil-degrading bacterial species in the Tianzuo hydrothermal area tended to be more similar to that in the non-hydrothermal area. This similarity is attributed to the changes in the bacterial community that followed the cessation of hydrothermal vent eruptions at this site. The Alphaproteobacteria abundance of the oil-degrading bacteria was significantly different in oil-degrading bacteria between the hydrothermal and non-hydrothermal areas.

Transport of chemotactic bacteria in granular media with randomly distributed chemoattractant-containing NAPL ganglia: Modeling and simulation

Chemotaxis is the biased movement of bacteria upon sensing chemical gradients, which can facilitate bioremediation of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) by transporting oil-degrading bacteria more efficiently to contaminants in groundwater aquifers. Transport phenomena of chemotactic bacteria in porous media can be described within the context of a convection-dispersion equation (CDE) that includes an additional convection-like chemotactic velocity. In this paper, we present a novel modification of a previously reported CDE by including a single first-order kinetic term which can differentiate bacterial sorption on porous matrix and chemoattractant-containing NAPL ganglia. Our model was solved numerically using a finite-element scheme to compute bacterial transport in granular media at a continuum level and also captured chemotaxis to discrete, randomly distributed NAPL ganglia of chemoattractant sources. Simulation results revealed the influence of oil ganglia on bacterial transport. It was found that chemotactic bacteria exhibited localized hotspots near NAPL ganglia because of chemotaxis toward and sorption on oil surfaces. The presence of oil ganglia reduced recovery of chemotactic bacteria by 71% and nonchemotactic bacteria by 44%, which accompanied enhanced retention inside the column. Model results suggested that chemotactic bacteria can locate NAPL and thereby sorb on surfaces more efficiently, which may overcome the limited bioavailability of contaminants dissolved in NAPLs. Simulated outputs demonstrated good agreement with experimental data in literature. Our model provides insight into the impact of chemotaxis and interaction with oil-phase chemoattractant sources on bacterial transport in porous media.

Profiling of Indigenous Biosurfactant-Producing Bacillus Isolates in the Bioremediation of Soil Contaminated by Petroleum Products and Olive Oil.

Petroleum is, up to this date, an inimitable nonrenewable energy resource. Petroleum leakage, which arises during transport, storage, and refining, is the most important contaminant in the environment, as it produces harm to the surrounding ecosystem. Bioremediation is an efficient method used to treat petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil using indigenous microorganisms. The degradation characteristics for a variety of hydrocarbons (hexane, benzene, gasoline, and diesel) were qualitatively and quantitatively investigated using Bacillus isolates. Microbiological and biochemical methods have been used including isolation of oil-degrading bacteria, enzymatic activities, the determination of physicochemical parameters, biosurfactant production and extraction assay, oil displacement assay, antimicrobial assay of the biosurfactants, and bioremediation kinetics. Consequently, of the 60 isolates capable of degrading different hydrocarbons at fast rates, 34 were suspected to be Bacillus isolates capable of growing in 24 h or 48 h on BH medium supplemented with 2% of hexane, benzene, gasoline, diesel, and olive oil, respectively. Among the 34 isolates, 61% (21/34) are capable of producing biosurfactant-like molecules by using gasoline, 70% (24/34) with diesel oil, 85% (29/34) with hexane, and 82% (28/34) with benzene. It was found that biosurfactant-producing isolates are extractable with HCl (100%), ammonium sulphate (95%), chloroform (95%), and ethanol (100%). Biosurfactants showed stability at 20°C, 37°C, 40°C, and 60°C. Biosurfactant secreted by Bacillus strains has shown an antagonistic effect in Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri 5a M90T, and Bacillus cereus. The selected isolates could therefore be safely used for biodegradation. Substrate biodegradation patterns by individual isolates were found to significantly differ. The study shows that benzene was degraded faster, followed by hexane, gasoline, and finally diesel. The Bacillus consortium used can decrease hydrocarbon content from 195 to 112 (g/kg) in 15 days.