Microbial cleaning is a much more effective way to achieve deep cleaning and remove oil from concrete floors. In january, 2011 the register reported that scientists were particularly impressed by the speed with which the bacteria was eating up its meal. Oileating bacteria could be a solution to spill cleanups. In 2011, cynthia was unleashed in the gulf of mexico and in its initial stages of life it was absorbing oil slicks at breathtaking speed. Oil eating bugs s olution1 is a fastacting proprietary blend of microorganisms, nutrients, and vitamins which create a microbial compound. Microbes are a completely natural solution for cleaning up oil spills. Once a spill has reached soil, gravel, pebbles or any broken ground, the control, containment and clean up of the spill often becomes more difficult than one onto a hardstand or sealed surface. Oileating microbe found in the gulf of mexico wikinews. Methane from bp oil spill eaten by microbes this article is more than 9 years old underwater bacteria had devoured nearly all the methane gas. Plants are unable to take from the soil the nutrition they need without microbes working in the soil.
Recently, microbial remediation technology has developed rapidly and achieved major gains. Naturally occurring bacteria gobbled up at least 200,000 tons of oil and natural gas that spewed into the gulf following the bp deepwater horizon spill, a new study shows. With our oil eating microbes, well absorb anything, anytime, anywhere. Biodegradation of petroleum and crude oil by pseudomonas putida and bacillus cereus c. There is a worldwide oil spill modelling wosm program. Oileating microbes posted on august 25, 2010 by chris macdonald most people probably dont know that there are naturallyoccurring microbes that make their living by eating naturallyoccurring hydrocarbons hydrocarbons are organic compounds that consist entirely of hydrogen and carbon, and that are found in crude oil. Pdf oil spills are probable accidents occurring mostly during transportation. Port aransas, texas microbiologists at the university of texas at austin and their colleagues have cracked the genetic code of how bacteria broke down oil to help clean up. Mineral oil and petroleum oil products gasoline, diesel fuel, motor oil, cannot be digested or used as food by animals. Many bacteria digest diverse types of oil, not only those of plant or animal origin, but also petroleum products.
Streaking plate method was used to get single colonies of pure culture3. The microbes simply eat up contaminants such as oil and organic matter e. David rencher scientists found that levels of oildegrading microbes increased in wetlands and beaches in response to oil exposure. Oil eating bacteria that are abundant in the gulf of mexico may have prevented the 2010 deepwater horizon spill from being more catastrophic, according to new research discussed monday. Any oil that becomes buried in the beach will also be broken down by microbes, though at a slower rate. Oileating microbes threaten shipwrecks and ocean life. Oil spill clean up can be fast and easy with aabaco environmental industries absorbents and bioremediation products. Bacteria sucked up 200,000 tons of oil after bp spill. Genetic potential of oileating bacteria from the bp oil. Oil type and temperature dependent biodegradation dynamics. Scientists are hoping to combat past and future spills by using oil eating.
According to ronald atlas of the university of louisville, who has been studying oil spill bioremediationa process in which oil eating microbes are used to degrade leaked crudesince 1968, it. Marine oil biodegradation hazen lab university of tennessee. From absorbent socks and oil absorbent pads to chemical and oil spill kits, aabaco has the spill cleanup products you need. Scientists break down oileating microbe scientific american. How an army of oileating bacteria can clean up the gulf. An oileating bacterium that can clean up pollution and spills. Other families known to include oildegrading bacteria were also identified, such as alcanivoracaceae. Petroleum microbiology is a branch of microbiology that deals with the study of microorganisms that can metabolize or alter crude or refined petroleum products. The basic units of genetic information are called genes. The microbial cultures continue enzyme production until all oil contaminants and other organic wastes are consumed. After incubation for 24 hrs at 37, mucous colonies were formed over. An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc. The core element of bioremediation is functional microorganisms that need sufficient nutrients and suitable environmental. Key factors affecting oil biodegradation by microbes.
Oil eating microbes found in the deepest part of the ocean. Order ultratech oil eating microbes, bag, pk6, 5232 at. Wondermicrobes is nontoxic, noncaustic, noncorrosive, nonpathogenic harmless and is biodegradable. In a desperate bid to solve the problem, the oil company unleashes a microbe that eats oil onto the spill. How an army of oileating bacteria can clean up the gulf in a new study published monday, a team of researchers say certain bacterial species can use their natural metabolism to efficiently clean. In this openended experiment, students will grow a mixture of oil eating bacteria and observe their effectiveness at degrading a variety of oils. Anderson and doug beason, a supertanker crashes into the golden gate bridge in san francisco bay, resulting in the largest oil spill in history. The microbes digest the oil as a food source and break it down into carbon, co2 and a lipids that is basically a fatty fish and plant food.
Biodegradation halflives are presented in additional file 2. In order to clean up contaminated soil and water in the most effective way possible, we harness the power of oil eating microbes in our various products. Oil eating microbes plentiful in gulf oil spill public broadcasting service, august 24, 2010 external links deepsea oil plume enriches indigenous oil degrading bacteria, science 2010. Frontiers petroleum hydrocarbondegrading bacteria for. There are two areas where this microbemixed water can be applied. Researcher john kessler, of the university of rochester, said the hydrocarboneating bacteria removed the majority. Ravikumar3 1department of microbiology, shrimathi indira gandhi college, tiruchirappalli, india 2department of botany, a. Of critical importance for the skill of the oil spill model prediction is the adequate description of the wind and current fields. Pdf the current understanding of the fundamental microscale. Petroleum hydrocarbondegrading bacteria are ubiquitous in nature and can utilize these compounds as sources of carbon and energy.
The clean up procedures described in these notes are for. Five years after the gulf of mexico deepwater horizon oil spill, oil remains on some marshland and inside plant tissues. The microbes then attach themselves to the contaminants and reduce them to carbon dioxide and water. Oil accumulated on the skin of animals can make it difficult to breath and move in the water. Since oil is a great food source for microbes, many different types primarily bacteria and fungi have evolved to break down oil into carbon dioxide and water. There are at least seven species of ocean bacteria that can survive by eating oil and nothing else. This paper was originally published for the 24th world gas conference that took place in buenos aires, argentina on 59 october 2009 and is contained in the conference. The microbes that once thrived around deepsea shipwrecks in the gulf of mexico have transformed significantly after the deepwater horizon oil spill in 2010, according to a new study. Oil eating microbes for safe oil spill cleaning and. Oil spill model systems are used by industry and government to assist in planning and emergency decision making.
How microbes can clean polluted water, from drains to rivers. Methane from bp oil spill eaten by microbes environment. Bioremediation by oil eating microbes are acknowledged to be the most ecofriendly and sustainable technology in the present world. Most plants require a soil substrate to provide water and nutrients, and whether we farm the plants directly or consume animals that feed on the plants, this means that we dont eat without soil. Genetic potential of oileating bacteria from the bp oil spill decoded microbiologists have discovered the potential of bacteria that helped clean up the bp oil spill. The genome, which is made up of genes, contains all of the biological information needed to. Lyons and his colleagues hope that during the next 6 months, their bioreactor will help to rapidly evolve a population of superefficient oil eating bacteria ideally suited to the conditions of the.
We believe the earth is so resourceful, it provides natural cleaning solutions for all kinds of manmade and synthetic calamities. Scientists have taken advantage of the unique ability of. Alcanivorax borkumensis alcanivorax borkumensis is a helpful microbe that can eat oil and hydrocarbons in the presence of oxygen. Oil eating microbes found in the deepest part of the ocean could help clean up manmade oil spills aylin woodward apr 11, 2019, 8. In this exploration, students experimentally determine the optimum conditions for microbes. Effect of addition of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Pdf microbial strategies for oil biodegradation researchgate. These oil degrading indigenous microorganisms played a significant role in. Sample inoculum 1 ml of 105 dilution of soil suspension was poured and spreaded over the nutrient agar plates by using sterile l rod. Solution1 feeds on hydrocarbon spills and contamination.
Oiled birds can lose the ability to fly, dive for food, or float on the water which could lead to drowning. Enzymes released by the microbe break the oil contaminant down into digestible pieces. These microbes digest the cellulose found in the grass, what is a genome. Coverclean hc uses living organisms microbes to eat and consume oil rather than disperse it. Specially micro enzymes that have natural appetite for hydrocarbon contaminates such as oil can released into a spill on open water or land with no negative impact to the environment. Oileating microbes living on the upper layers of the beach can break down oil. Although it is well known from chomping on hydrocarbons in oil spills, it was first isolated from sediments of the north sea.
Chakrabarty discovered a method for genetic crosslinking that fixed all four plasmid genes in place and produced a new, stable, bacterial species now called pseudomonas putida capable of consuming oil one or two orders of magnitude faster than the previous four strains of oileating microbes. Oileating bacteria mitigated deepwater horizon oil. The deepwater horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico in 2010 is one of the most studied spills in history, yet scientists havent agreed on the role of microbes in eating up the oil. Diesel, gasoline and jet fuel xylene mineral oil motor oil. How microbes helped clean bps oil spill scientific american. These oil eating microbes are available in different forms. By irradiating the transformed organism with uv light after plasmid transfer, prof. Aabaco environmental industries spill cleanup products. These microorganisms, also called hydrocarbonoclastic microorganisms, can degrade hydrocarbons and, include a wide distribution of bacteria, methanogenic archaea, and some fungi. Bacteria displaying such capabilities are often exploited for the bioremediation of petroleum oil contaminated environments. Relative size of microbes millimeters mm 1 meter m micrometers m or mcm 1 millimeter mm nanometers nm 1 micrometer mcm size of commonly known microbes in micrometers m or mcm mcm type name how known 500 protozoa amoeba common in freshwater have pseudopods. However, usually only a small number of oil eating bacteria live in any given part of the ocean, and it takes a few days for their population to increase to take advantage of their.
Alcanivorax borkumensis is a rodshaped bacteria that relies on oil to provide it with energy. This clan of oileating microbes can be found from cold arctic and antarctic waters to the balmy seas of the gulf of mexico. It is a map of the complete genetic makeup of an organism. Microbes are alive, and must have nutrition to survive, and that nutrition comes from organic matter.
966 691 847 1285 1465 591 1007 342 904 543 1067 1149 1207 521 1107 54 1452 135 931 593 586 168 846 100 1315 994 1169 428 296 560 900 301 893 520 7 750 296 90 488