Harnessing Bacillus cereus from Surabaya Seawater for Enhanced Diesel Fuel Bioremediation in Tropical Ocean

Abstract

Hydrocarbon is one of the primary organic pollutants that contaminate seawater. Most hydrocarbons which pollute the sea waters of Indonesia are the constituents of diesel fuel. This condition emphasizes the need to develop a bioremediation strategy for diesel fuel pollution in the country. A successful plan for bioremediation is primarily determined by the choice of the bacterial agent, which can be isolated from the polluted seawater. Furthermore, the setup must consider the characteristics and capability of the bacterial isolates to degrade diesel fuel. This study thus aimed to analyze the potential of Bacillus cereus isolated from the polluted seawater of Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, as a bioremediation agent. The results of bacterial density, pH measurements, TPH and GC-MS assays indicated that the locally isolated Bacillus cereus could significantly reduce the hydrocarbon concentrations. More importantly, after 14 days of bioremediation, the polluting diesel fuel was categorized as biodegradable based on the BOD:COD ratio. This study shows that Bacillus cereus has excellent potential for bioremediating hydrocarbon contaminants in tropical seawater.