The effects of oil exploration and production in the northern North Sea: Part 2—microbial biodegradation of hydrocarbons in water and sediments, 1978–1981

Effects of chemical structure and exposure on the microbial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in freshwater and estuarine ecosystems

“…This indicates : that not all heterotrophs were able to utilize PAHs as substrates and total heterotrophic microbial populations may not be a reliable indicator of the hydrocarbon-degrading potential of aquatic sediments. Similar adaptive increases in oil-degrading microbial populations without increases in total heterotrophic activity have been reported in sediments near oil-fields in the North Sea [36] and in the vicinity of a coal-coking wastewater discharge [12]. The degradation of many aromatic hydrocarbons is plasmid mediated in heterotrophic microorganisms [37] and the physiological, enzymatic and genetic differences between adapted and unadapted sediment microorganisms are important features to be considered in determining the recalcitrance of a pollutant.…”

PAH assessment in the main Brazilian offshore oil and gas production area using semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMD) and transplanted bivalves

“…Naphthalenes are volatiles and are more soluble than phenanthrenes and dibenzothiophenes. Furthermore, naphthalene degradation has been reported in waters from pristine and oil-contaminated ecosystems (Lee et al, 1978, Herbes and Schwall, 1978, Lee and Ryan, 1983, Massie et al, 1985. Naphthalene is relatively water soluble (31.2 mg L À 1 ) and has such a high vapor pressure (0.23 mmHg) that biodegradation and volatilization in open waters may be important processes that affects its fate in aquatic systems.…”

Biodegradation of chrysene, an aromatic hydrocarbon by Polyporus sp. S133 in liquid medium

“…Microbial communities could have considerable potential to remedy oil-contaminated sediment and remove chrysene from aqueous solution [10,11]. High-molecular-weight PAHs such as chrysene and benzo [a]pyrene are hard to be biodegraded whereas lower-molecular-weight PAHs such as phenanthrene and naphthalene are efficiently degraded [12][13][14]. The efficiency in which PAH is biodegraded in sediment differs from that in liquid medium.…”