ENHANCED BIODEGRADATION OF PAHs USING BIOSURFACTANT PRODUCING BACTERIA FROM A HUMIC FRESHWATER ECOSY

Employing normal analytical protocols, this investigation on improved biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using biosurfactant generating bacteria from a humic freshwater habitat was carried out. The hemolytic test, oil spread, drop collapse, and emulsification capacity tests were used to screen for biosurfactant producing capabilities of the bacterial isolates, and four biosurfactant producing bacterial strains were discovered, with Micrococcus luteus being the greatest biosurfactant producer. This ability was also discovered to be plasmid-mediated, and it increased Bacillus subtilis' crude oil and PAH degrading potential by 46.06 percent, compared to 19.65 percent when degraded by Bacillus subtilis alone. The results also demonstrated that naphthalene anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, acenapthylene, benzo(a)anthracene, fluorene, acenapthylene, acenapthene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, and pyrene were all selectively degraded to greater than 90%. Naphthalene, anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, acenapthylene, and benzo(a)anthracene were the most degraded PAHs. The potential of these bacterial communities can be investigated for use in remediating crude oil-polluted environments and farmlands, which is a problem that exists and is of great concern in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region.

Please see the link :- https://www.ikprress.org/index.php/JOGEE/article/view/696