Artificial bacterial consortium for bioremediation of hydrocarbon polluted sites

Abstract

Bioremediation is one of the most effective strategies to reduce pollution of oil contaminated environments. In this study, the ability of selected bacterial strains to degrade crude oil and its components was evaluated through growth experiments and gas chromatographic analysis. The strains were taxonomically characterized as Alcanivorax, Labrenzia, Halomonas, Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Pseudomonas and Brevundimonas. Four different bacterial consortia were constructed and their biodegradation capabilities were evaluated. One of them showing high degradation capability of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has been used for bioaugmentation in a microcosm for 30 days, and its bioremediation potential showed significant reduction of hydrocarbons in contaminated sediments.