Biodegradation of a synthetic lubricant by Micrococcus roseus

Abstract

A bacterium that was able to utilize Emkarate 1550 (E1550), a synthetic lubricant ester, as the sole source of carbon was isolated. The isolate was tentatively identified as Micrococcus roseus. The components of the E1550 ester, octanoate, decanoate, and 1,1,1-tris(hydroxymethyl)propane (TMP), were detected in the culture medium of cells growing on the ester. The TMP tertiary alcohol accumulated during growth and was not utilized by this isolate. The detection of the components of the ester in the supernatant of cultures indicated that one of the first steps in its degradation was cleavage of the ester bonds. Esterase activity was significantly

Interactions between bacterial populations during degradation of a lubricant base oil

“…Incidentally, our attempts to ¢nd TMP-degrading microorganisms from a variety of hydrocarbon-and oil-contaminated sources were not successful until now. The results con¢rm reports of other groups in which they state that this compound is very persistent [16,17,20].…”

“…Both vegetable oils and most synthetic fatty acid esters such as trimethylolpropaneoleate (TMPO) have the same basic structure. Their ester bonds can be hydrolyzed by extracellular lipases [16,17] and the oleic acid released from TMPO can be assimilated by many microbial species. However, the alcoholic component Tris(hydroxymethyl)-1,1,1-propane (TMP) seems to be persistent [16^18].…”

In situ lubricant degradation in Antarctic marine sediments. 1. Short‐term changes

“…The bulk of the biodegradable lubricant (ϳ80%) is composed of C 18 noate esters of 1,1,1-TMP. With the exception of 1,1,1-TMP, these base fluid compounds degraded only slightly, and this presumably explains why TPH concentrations did not decrease significantly between 5 and 56 weeks in situ.…”

“…The alkanoate esters of 1,1,1-TMP were the most exten-B.A.W. Thompson et al [18][19][20][21]. These bacteria are unable to oxidize the tertiary alcohol (1,1,1-TMP) or to use it as a carbon source; hence, 1,1,1-TMP is found to accumulate.…”

“…Degradation of synthetic lubricants has been studied only under controlled laboratory conditions (e.g., Commission of European Community L-33-T-82 biodegradability test, Brussels, Belgium) and on experimental soil plots [13,[17][18][19][20][21]. Laboratory tests sometimes over-or underestimate the natural rates, presumably because these tests do not accurately mimic natural conditions (e.g., temperature, currents, nutrients).…”