Lysinibacillus sphaericus and Geobacillus sp Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Biosurfactant Production

Abstract

Petroleum oil is a major driver of worldwide economic activity, but it has also created contamination problems during the storage and refining process. Also, unconventional resources are natural resources, which require greater than industry‐standard levels of technology or investment to exploit. In the case of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, additional technology, energy, and capital have to be applied to extract the gas or oil. Bioremediation of petroleum spill is considered of great importance due to the contaminating effects on human health and the environment. For this reason, it is important to reduce total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in contaminated soil. In addition, biosurfactant production is a desirable property of hydrocarbon‐degrading microorganisms. Seven strains belonging to Lysinibacillus sphaericus and Geobacillus sp were selected to evaluate their ability to biodegrade TPH in the presence of toxic metals, their potential to produce biosurfactants, and their ability to improve the biodegradation rate. The seven bacterial strains examined in this study were able to utilize crude petroleum‐oil hydrocarbons as the sole source of carbon and energy. In addition, their ability to degrade crude oil was not affected by the presence of toxic metals such as chromium and arsenic. At the same time, the strains were able to reduce toxic metals concentration through biosorption processes. Biosurfactant production was determined using the drop‐collapsed method for all strains, and they were characterized as both anionic and cationic biosurfactants. Biosurfactants showed an increase in biodegradation efficiency both in liquid minimal salt medium and landfarming treatments. The final results in field tests showed an efficiency of 93 percent reduction in crude oil concentration by the selected consortium compared to soil without consortium. The authors propose L. sphaericus and Geobacillus sp consortium as an optimum treatment for contaminated soils. In addition, production of biosurfactants could have an application in the extraction of crude oil from unconventional hydrocarbon resources. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lysinibacillus sphaericus plant growth promoter bacteria and lead phytoremediation enhancer with Canavalia ensiformis

“…This behavior could be associated to the nutrient stress in both soils where the nitrogen is low, and especially in non-polluted soils where there are no carbon sources (Table 1). The fast growth of consortium may be explained by the fact that L. sphaericus is able to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons and use them as a carbon source, but the degradation is a long process which requires the synthesis of biosurfactants that allow the bioavailability of hydrocarbons [24]. The fast growth of consortium may be explained by the fact that L. sphaericus is able to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons and use them as a carbon source, but the degradation is a long process which requires the synthesis of biosurfactants that allow the bioavailability of hydrocarbons [24].…”

Isolation and Characterization of Hydrocarbon-utilizing Bacteria from Petroleum Sludge Samples obtained from Crude Oil Processing Facility in Nigeria

“…The bootstrap consensus tree inferred from 500 replicates was taken to represent the evolutionary of the taxa analyzed (Felsenstein, 1985) RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The bacterial populations of the sludge sample are presented in Table 1. The enumeration of high population of THB (2.5x10 6 cfu/g) and HUB counts of 2.0x10 3 cfu/g respectively is an indication that the sludge sample could be degraded by the indigenous hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria isolated from the oily sludge sample (Ojo, 2006;Manchola and Dussan, 2014). The enumeration of these bacterial populations from the oily petroleum sludge implies that the bacterial genera are able to utilize crude petroleum oil hydrocarbons as the sole source of carbon and energy.…”

“…The enumeration of these bacterial populations from the oily petroleum sludge implies that the bacterial genera are able to utilize crude petroleum oil hydrocarbons as the sole source of carbon and energy. Manchola and Dussan (2014) in a study to evaluate the ability of seven strains belonging to Lysinibacillus sphericus and Geobacillus species isolated from an off-shore "sercina" oil field, to biodegrade TPH in the presence…”

“…At the same time, the strains were able to reduce toxic metals concentration through biosorption processes. (Manchola and Dussan, 2014).…”

“…Fortunately, microorganisms are highly efficient and versatile in their ability to degrade hydrocarbons; (Odokuma and Dickson 2003;Head et al, 2006;Odokuma and Smith 2007;Adebusoye et al, 2007). Bacteria that biodegrade polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), monoaromatic hydrocarbons and aliphatic hydrocarbons are readily isolated from the environment that have been contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbon (Chamkha et al, 2011;Manchola and Dussan, 2014). A reviewed list of bacterial genera has listed 79 genera that can utilize hydrocarbon as the sole source of carbon and energy (Head et al, 2006).…”