Bioremediation of Crude Oil Polluted Ecosystem Using Mixed Microbial Population on Polluted Areas

Bioremediation utilizes the capability of microorganism to degrade all toxic wastes. This emerging technology is a promising method for the effective treatment of contaminated soil and water. This work investigates the possible methods to enhance the rate of natural bioremediation of hydrocarbons in a more effective, efficient, economical and environmentally friendly way. The bioremediation processes in this research was applied to a crude oil polluted ecosystem with a high level of contamination originated from a well head. The effect on pH, turbidity, biological oxygen demand (BOD), nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and total hydrocarbon content (THC) was evaluated. These effects were monitored during the process of bioremediation. Mixed microbial population method to enhance the rate of biodegradation was applied. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger and their combination was applied separately for the treatment. Results showed that all bioremediation agents applied enhanced the natural bioremediation of the contaminated soil and water and the best result was obtained with treatments using their combination (APSPS-W). THC removal of 99.5% (4763.8-68), 98.9% (4948.9-110) and 98.5%(4832.8-162) for the samples remediated with APSPS-W, ASPS-W and PSPS-W and a pH of 9.0, 8.0 and 8.3 for soil and 9.3, 8.2 and 8.5 for water, respectively was observed in the 49 days experiment. Keywords: Aspergillus, bioremediation, contamination, hydrocarbon, Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cite this Article Kenoll OB, Ebitei S. Bioremediation of Crude Oil Polluted Ecosystem using Mixed Microbial Population on Polluted Areas. Journal of Energy, Environment and Carbon Credits . 2016; 6(1):        16–24p.