title: Bioremediation of oil-contaminated sediments on an inter-tidal shoreline using a slow-release fertilizer and chitosan.
abstract: A 95-day field trial on the bioremediation of oil in beach sediment using Osmocote and chitosan was conducted on an inter-tidal foreshore in Singapore. Osmocote was the key factor in enhancing nutrient levels in sediments, the metabolic activity of the indigenous microbial biomass, and the biodegradation of aliphatics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with ring number of 2 and 3. In contrast, chitosan did not enhance these parameters in the presence of Osmocote. However, the addition of chitosan to Osmocote amended sediments significantly enhanced biodegradation of recalcitrant 4-6-ring PAHs. This is most likely due to the high oil adsorbancy capacity of chitosan, which enhances the bioavailability of high ring number PAHs to the microbial biomass.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 4 Engineering Drive 4, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Angelina N L
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Yong Giak
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Jeffrey P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Obbard
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D048271:Chitosan / Q000378:metabolism*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D005308:Fertilizers; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D010578:Petroleum / Q000378:metabolism*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D012846:Singapore
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005308:Fertilizers; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D048271:Chitosan; D010088:Oxidoreductases