Biodegradation of Crude Oil by Individual Bacterial Strains and an efficient Mixed Bacterial Consortium

Petroleum hydrocarbons pollution features among the main marine environmental concerns. Clean-up techniques using physical skimming and chemical dispersants to resolve this problem are both costly and limited in effectiveness. The current study aimed to assess the potential of a mixed bacterial strains including Acinetobacter calcoaceticus ATCC 23055, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 in degradation of crude oil remains. The mixed consortiums of the three strains showed superior effectiveness in degrading alkane compounds as compared to individual cultures. Crude oil degradation reached 84.14%. GC–MS analysis demonstrated that mixed consortium would effectively decrease a variety of alkane substrates.

Keywords:

Crude Oil , Mixed Bacterial Consortium , Biodegradation , Biosurfactant , Bioaugmentation