Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

A bacterial strain of the genus Pseudomonas aeruginosa was inoculated into a hydrocarbon culture medium and incubated for a definite period of time. The ability of the bacterial strain to biodegrade a hydrocarbon, viz. n-hexadecane, was evaluated through determining the hexadecane concentration in the inoculated culture medium on a gas chromatograph (GC). The effect of pH value on the degrading ability of the bacterial isolate and the impact of temperature on microbial growth were also explored. Test results showed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was markedly effective in biodegrading n-hexadecane. Furthermore, the ability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to biodegrade n-hexadecane was different at various pH values. Pseudomonas aeruginosa provided excellent degrading ability at a pH value of 7.0. The microbial cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa increased with an increasing incubation duration at temperatures ranging from 28 ℃ to 35 ℃, and an exponential phase of microbial growth was observed.