A new rapid technique for screening the potential of implanted microorganisms to tolerate and grow on petroleum oily sludges.
Standard experimental protocols for biodegrading petroleum hydrocarbons employ microbiological and/or analytical analysis, and require advanced machines and specialized professionals to carry them out. Furthermore, the obtained results involve a high margin of error. In this paper, a new experimental technique was developed to facilitate the study of microbial capability to degrade petroleum oily sludges. The technique is based on growing microorganisms on 0.22 microm filter membranes laid over oily sludge placed in metallic cups. The microbial growth was assessed using the plate counts technique. Sludge degradation was assessed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR), and compared to the decrease in total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) using solvent extraction. The protocol was tested using three types of inocula: fungal inoculum containing Paecilomyces variotii; bacterial inoculum containing Bacillus cereus; and fungal-bacterial inoculum containing both strains. Both, fungal and bacterial, strains were isolated from the oily sludge used in the present study, and were tentatively identified as oil degraders. The results of the newly developed technique helped to assess the potential of these cultures to tolerate and grow on the oily sludge.
Said
M
M
Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada,
Elektorowicz
M
M
Ahmad
D
D
Chifrina
R
R
D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D008851:Micropore Filters; D010143:Paecilomyces / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D010578:Petroleum / Q000378:metabolism*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
D006838:Hydrocarbons; D010578:Petroleum