Bioremediation of Oil on Shoreline Environments: Development of Techniques and Guidelines

Abstract

Over the last 20 years, the development of operational procedures to accelerate the natural biodegradation rates of oil spilled on shoreline environments has been the focus of numerous research programs. As a result, bioremediation has been demonstrated to be an effective oil spill countermeasure for use in cobble, sand beach, salt marsh, and mudflat environments. Today, studies are directed towards improving the efficacy and evaluating the ecological impacts of available bioremediation agents and/or procedures. This review describes the latest developments in bioremediation strategies and their key success factors.

The Effect of Biostimulation and Biostimulation-Bioaugmentation on Biodegradation of Oil-Pollution on Sandy Beaches Using Mesocosms

“…Bioaugmentation involves the addition of oil degrading bacteria to supplement the existing microbial population. Biostimulation involves the addition of nutrients, or growth-enhancing co-substrates, which improve habitat quality to stimulate the growth of indigenous oil degraders (Lee and Merlin, 1999).…”

Oil-particle interactions and submergence from crude oil spills in marine and freshwater environments: review of the science and future research needs

“…Lee and others (1997;2003a) note that OPA formation accelerated the removal of stranded oil within the intertidal/surf zone by reducing the adhesive properties of the oil and the tendency of dispersed droplets stabilized by mineral fines to recoalesce. Thus, either formed naturally or enhanced with addition of clay minerals, the relatively stable OPAs are dispersed more easily in the water column, potentially reducing the oil to concentrations below toxicity threshold limits (Lee and others, 2003a;Lee and others, 2003b) and making the oil more available for biodegradation (Weise and others, 1999;Lee and others, 1996;Lee and others, 1997;Lee and Merlin, 1999;Owen and Lee, 2003). Like chemical dispersants, the exposure pathway is altered from water surfaces and shorelines to the water column, which transfers the toxicity risks from water fowl and shoreline organisms to planktonic, open water, and benthic species (Venosa and others, 2014).…”

“…Because large droplets have higher buoyancy than smaller droplets, they tend to float to the water surface, whereas smaller droplets could be driven more easily in the water column as a result of mixing energy (Boufadel and others, 2007). Smaller droplets also have a larger specific area than large droplets, which would enhance dissolution and microbial biodegradation (Lee and others, 1997;Lee and Merlin, 1999;Reddy and others, 2012;Geng and others, 2013).…”

“…Once oil droplets are aggregated with particles and submerge, associated contaminants, especially polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), become a potential problem to suspended and benthic aquatic organisms, including plankton, zooplankton, invertebrates, mussels, and clams, and any higher level organisms that consume them (Long and others, 1998;MacDonald and others, 2000;Passow and others, 2012;Almeda and others, 2013). On the other hand, as illustrated during field studies, oil bound up in OPAs may be diluted to below toxicity threshold limits (Lee and others, 2003b) and may become more available for biodegradation (Lee and others, 1997;Lee and Merlin, 1999). An important ecological consideration is closely linked to the turbulent energy of the environment with more risk associated with submerged OPAs in depositional or low energy environments.…”

Bioremediation of Four Food Industrial Effluents

“…However, success depends on the bioremediation ability of the used microorganisms [9,10] which may be native or exogenous to the contaminated water [11]. Indigenous microorganisms have been known for their potentiality to degrade the solid residues present in the effluents.…”