title: Assessing weathered Endicott oil biodegradation in brackish water.
abstract: We evaluated the biodegradability of physically (WAF) and chemically (CEWAF) dispersed oil in brackish water (salinity ∼6.5 g/L), and the influence of nutrient availability (low nutrient-LN: background water vs. high nutrient-HN: addition of 100 mg NO3-N/L and 10mg PO4-P/L to background water) on oil biodegradation rates at 15±0.5 °C for 42 days. No oil removal occurred in WAF compared with CEWAF: 24% in HN and 14% in LN within two weeks. The oil biodegradation concerned mainly alkanes as confirmed by GC/MS analyses. Higher O2 consumption (10.30 mg L(-1) day(-1)) and CO2 production (3.89 mg CL(-1) day(-1)) were measured in HN compared with LN (O2: 2.79 mg L(-1) day(-1), CO2:0.18 mg CL(-1) day(-1)). Estimated biomass of hydrocarbon degraders and heterotrophic bacteria was at least an order of magnitude larger in HN than in LN. Combining dispersants with nutrients could enhance oil biodegradation and help improve oil spill mitigation responses.
authors.affiliation: Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. Electronic address: pyroenvironmentalconsulting@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yves Robert
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Personna
authors.affiliation: Center for Offshore Oil, Gas and Energy Research, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. Electronic address: boudadel@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Michel C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Boufadel
authors.affiliation: Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
authors.forename: Shuangyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kustka
mesh_terms: D000473:Alkanes / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018533:Biomass; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D054712:Salinity; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Biodegradation; Bioremediation; Brackish water; Dispersants; Endicott oil; Oil spill