Potential for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in contaminated sites: A review

The unprecedented population growth, humanactivities and technological development, as well as urbanization,have led to a significant increase in contaminants. Among theorganic contaminants, the release of oil compounds into theenvironment due to industrial activities and use of petroleum-basedproducts has led to the environmental pollution. polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons, alkylated PAHs, alkanoic acids and alkyl benzenesreleased from car exhausts include carcinogenic compounds whichare highly toxic to organisms due to their mutagenic potential. Inaddition, the release of crude oil and petroleum products in theseawater during operation and transportation causes severeenvironmental pollution. Therefore, the development andimplementation of advanced technologies to eliminate thesepollutants is necessary. There are various techniques to remove thepollution resulted by petroleum hydrocarbons such as physical,chemical and microbial treatment. Bioremediation is a perforabletechnique for the remediation of hydrocarbon, because it isconsidered as cost effective, eco-friendly, and less disruption of thecontaminated environment when compared to other cleanupmethods. This study, gives a brief review of the efficiency ofbioremediation, the metabolic process and limiting parameters ofbioremediation process.

Potential for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in contaminated sites: A review Keywords:

Bioremediation , Petroleum Hydrocarbons , contaminated site , Organic contaminants