Abstract:
Petro chemical hydrocarbons are considered to be the most significant environmental pollutants and are need to be improved. In the present study the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons was achieved under shake flask conditions using an efficient bacterial consortium that was isolated and identified in Environmental Sciences laboratory of Bahria University Islamabad Campus. The consortium was tested for bio surfactant production before being employed for the process of bio degradation. Bio remediation techniques (natural attenuation, bio stimulation and bio augmentation) were assessed with 6% oily sludge concentration in open microcosms over the period of 6 weeks. The percentage removal and petro chemical degradation was evaluated using UV-visible spectrophotometer and Fourier Transform infrared Spectroscopy. Addition of heterotrophic bacteria and nutrients in different concentrations demonstrated higher degradation rate of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) than those of natural attenuation treatments. The bacterial consortium achieved 79.06% degradation of petroleum hydrocarbon in Natural attenuation, 80.62% in bio stimulation and 80.93% in bio augmentation. FTIR spectra of hydrocarbons before and after biodegradation experiments also revealed significant changes in the characteristic peaks, making certain bonds.
