Abstract

Petroleum hydrocarbons are toxic to all forms of life; therefore, environmental pollution caused by petroleum is of great concern. Bio-based environmentally friendly strategies are preferred for the remediation of these contaminated sites. This study investigated the potential of consortia of Bacillus spp for the removal of petroleum hydrocarbons from synthetic media and industrial effluents. Of the 115 isolates, the top three performing isolates, designated as GPA 11.2, GPA 7.1, GPA 3.5, were selected and identified using 16 s rDNA as Bacillus subtilis (GPA 11.2), Bacillus methylotrophicus (GPA 3.5), and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (GPA 7.1). The three strains were combined to produce three different consortia designated as prototype 1, prototype 2, and prototype 3. The bioremediation potential of each consortium was evaluated by Gas Chromatography (GC) using industrial effluents that contained hydrocarbons. Results indicated that the bulk of the contaminants were removed during the first 48 h; and removal (%) did not increase significantly after 72 h. The total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) (C8–C28) removal rates from synthetic effluent after 48 h of treatment using prototype 1, prototype 2, and prototype 3 were 64.9%, 30.0%, and 79.8%, respectively. The TPH (C8–C28) removal rate from true effluents after 48 h of treatment using prototype 1, prototype 2, and prototype 3 consortia were 64.5%, 53.6%, and 52.7%, respectively. The results showed that the best performing consortium was prototype 1. This study has demonstrated the potential application of Bacillus consortia as bioremediation agents for the treatment of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites.

摘要

石油烃对所有形式的生命都有毒；因此，石油引起的环境污染问题备受关注。基于生物的环境友好策略是首选的补救措施。这项研究调查了芽孢杆菌属的财团从合成介质和工业废水中去除石油烃的潜力。在这115株菌株中，选择了表现最好的三个菌株，分别命名为GPA 11.2，GPA 7.1，GPA 3.5，并使用16 s rDNA鉴定为枯草芽孢杆菌（GPA 11.2），甲基营养芽孢杆菌（GPA 3.5）和解淀粉芽孢杆菌（GPA 7.1）。合并这三个菌株以产生三个不同的联合体，分别命名为原型1，原型2和原型3。每个联合体的生物修复潜力通过气相色谱法（GC）使用含烃的工业废水进行评估。结果表明，在最初的48小时内，大部分污染物被清除了。72小时后去除率（％）没有明显增加。使用原型1，原型2和原型3处理48小时后，从合成废水中去除的总石油烃（TPH）（C8–C28）的比率分别为64.9％，30.0％和79.8％。使用原型1，原型2和原型3联合体处理48小时后，从真实废水中去除TPH（C8–C28）的比率分别为64.5％，53.6％和52.7％。芽孢杆菌联盟作为生物修复剂，用于治疗碳氢化合物污染的部位。