Remediation of Petroleum-Contaminated Soils with Microbial and Microbial Combined Methods: Advances, Mechanisms, and Challenges

Abstract

The petroleum industry’s development has been supported by the demand for petroleum and its by-products. During extraction and transportation, however, oil will leak into the soil, destroying the structure and quality of the soil and even harming the health of plants and humans. Scientists are researching and developing remediation techniques to repair and re-control the afflicted environment due to the health risks and social implications of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination. Remediation of soil contamination produced by petroleum hydrocarbons, on the other hand, is a difficult and time-consuming job. Microbial remediation is a focus for soil remediation because of its convenience of use, lack of secondary contamination, and low cost. This review lists the types and capacities of microorganisms that have been investigated to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons. However, investigations have revealed that a single microbial remediation faces difficulties, such as inconsistent remediation effects and substantial environmental consequences. It is necessary to understand the composition and source of pollutants, the metabolic genes and pathways of microbial degradation of petroleum pollutants, and the internal and external aspects that influence remediation in order to select the optimal remediation treatment strategy. This review compares the degradation abilities of microbial–physical, chemical, and other combination remediation methods, and highlights the degradation capabilities and processes of the greatest microbe-biochar, microbe–nutrition, and microbe–plant technologies. This helps in evaluating and forecasting the chemical behavior of contaminants with both short- and long-term consequences. Although there are integrated remediation strategies for the removal of petroleum hydrocarbons, practical remediation remains difficult. The sources and quantities of petroleum pollutants, as well as their impacts on soil, plants, and humans, are discussed in this article. Following that, the focus shifted to the microbiological technique of degrading petroleum pollutants and the mechanism of the combined microbial method. Finally, the limitations of existing integrated microbiological techniques are highlighted.

Bioremediation of Soil from Petroleum Contamination

“…The efficiency of the microbial degradation of hydrocarbons depends on their structure, with the intensity of biodegradation decreasing in the following series: n-alkanes → branched alkanes → low molecular weight aromatics → cycloalkanes → polycyclic aromatics [71][72][73]. Aliphatic hydrocarbons are partially oxidized by many microbes, but can be fully metabolized by only a few species (Pseudomonas, Nocardia, Xanthomonas, Bacterium, Corynebacterium, Mycobacterium, Acinetobacter) [72,74].…”

“…Over 100 genera of bacteria, yeast and mycelial fungi are currently known to be able to degrade hydrocarbons (Table 3). According to the literature data, the proportion of petroleum subject to biodegradation varies from 6% [76] to 82% [77] for soil fungi, and from 0.13% [76] to 100% [73,78] for bacteria. High molecular weight polycyclic aromatics can be degraded, albeit rather inefficiently, by specific microbes, with some compounds not being prone to degradation at all [52,[79][80][81].…”

Draft Genome Sequence of Gordonia sp. Strain Campus, a Bacterium Isolated from Diesel-Contaminated Soil with Potential Use in Phytoremediation Systems

“…For the phytoremediation process, certain plants and their soil-associated microorganisms are sought to detoxify the contaminants present at the rhizosphere level ( 3 ). Some studies have shown that bacteria of the genus Gordonia are useful for remediating diesel-contaminated soils ( 4 ). Gordonia sp.…”

Role of Different Material Amendments in Shaping the Content of Heavy Metals in Maize (Zea mays L.) on Soil Polluted with Petrol

“…Effective ways in the reclamation of contaminated soil are sought and developed in order to protect the natural environment. There are several remediation technologies applied to such soils whose aim is to contain, immobilise, and remove pollutants using physical, chemical, and biological processes [ 31 ]. One of the solutions consists of the application of different mineral and organic materials in the phytostabilisation process, which have a positive effect on the properties of soil and growth of plants [ 32 , 33 ].…”