title: Accelerated biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbon waste.
abstract: Conventional landfarming approaches to bioremediation of refinery and other petroleum sludges are not acceptable environmentally and are banned in most North American jurisdictions. While initial bioreactor-based systems for treatment of these sludges required batch-cycle process-times of 1-3 months, an accelerated process has now been developed which can be completed in 10-12 days. In this process, up to 99% of total petroleum hydrocarbons are degraded and the sludges are converted from hazardous to non-hazardous according to the United States EPA's toxicity characteristic leachate procedure criteria. Understanding and exploiting mechanisms to improve hydrocarbon accession to the degrading microorganisms was a key development component of the process. Contrasting physiological mechanisms were observed for different component organisms of the mixed culture with respect to their associations with the hydrocarbon substrate; and the beneficial effects of using surfactants were demonstrated. The mixed culture used in the process exhibited a capacity for high-rate degradation of volatile organic carbons and the potential use of the culture as a liquid biofilter was demonstrated. The culture was also effective as an inoculant for the bioaugmentation of total petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil and as a de-emulsifier of oilfield emulsions and could transform some other environmental contaminants which are not predominant components of crude oil.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.opward@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca
authors.forename: Owen
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Hamme
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019149:Bioreactors; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D007220:Industrial Waste; D010578:Petroleum / Q000378:metabolism*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D007220:Industrial Waste; D010578:Petroleum; D013501:Surface-Active Agents