Prospects for The Use of Thermotolerant Microorganisms for Remediation of Oil-Contaminated Soils

Most of the world's oil fields are concentrated in geographic areas with high temperature conditions. One of the main problems of remediation of territories in hot climates is the fact that high temperatures reduce the viscosity of oil and, thus, accelerate its diffusion into the soil. This greatly complicates the processes of soil cover restoration using conventional methods. An alternative can be bioremediation using the oil-oxidizing microorganisms that are resistant to high temperatures and low humidity. The presented review is devoted to the analysis of studies of thermotolerant microorganisms by scientists from different countries with the aim of using them in the remediation of contaminated soils from oil and oil products. The data on the influence of the main environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen, pH, salinity, aeration, the presence of nutrients, etc., on the viability and vital activity of thermotolerant hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms are presented. Examples of biochemical and molecular genetic characteristics of thermotolerant microorganisms are given. Their taxonomic diversity is shown, and examples of the degradation of individual oil components by active strains are given.