Roles of plants and bacteria in bioremediation of petroleum in contaminated soils

Abstract

Large amounts of petroleum compounds are released into the environment every year as a result of industrial activities causing serious damages to the environment and human health. Various methods may be applied to remove the petroleum pollutants, but bioremediation is a cost-effective and sustainable process to remove these hazardous organic pollutants. The utilization of organisms such as plants and bacteria for biodegradation of pollutants is an inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and efficient approach to clean up polluted soils. Bacteria are ubiquitous in polluted environments and may develop different strategies to utilize pollutants. Plants may also be used to degrade the pollutants; that is called phytoremediation which is a promising method for reclaiming contaminated sites. Most plants associate with different bacteria that live around their roots, and this association can increase the biodegradation rate of organic compounds. In fact, plants and bacteria play pivotal roles in cleaning up the environment and can accelerate the remediation process of petroleum waste.