Natural hydrocarbon-biodegradation activity in aged contaminated soils from Neuquén, Argentina

RUBERTO L; CUADRADO V; MERINI L ; RODRÍGUEZ TALOU J; LO BALBO A; GIULIETTI A; MAC CORMACK W

San Miguel de Tucumán

Congreso; XLV Reunion Anual - Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular; 2009

SAIB

Despite the idea of preserving the environment, the petrochemical industry and related activities usually produce contamination events. Soils of the exploitation areas are commonly impacted by the presence of contaminant hydrocarbon. In this work, the biodegradation activity of a hydrocarbon contaminated soil from Neuquén province was evaluated. Soil was collected from the Centenario facilities (Neuquén). Soil characterization as well as THP, Pb, Hg, Cd, Zn As and Cr were determined to know some properties of the soil. Additionally an ‘in vitro’ assay was carried out to evaluate the capacity of the indigenous microflora to degrade the hydrocarbons. The experiment was developed using Erlenmeyer flask containing 10 g of soil and 50 ml of a saline medium. The flasks were incubated at 25°C and 250 rpm in a shaker for 8 days. The number of total heterotrophic aerobic bacteria was evaluated by plate counts. TPH was evaluated at day 0 and day 8 by IR after extraction of alkalized (pH 13) cultures. In the system with biological activity the hydrocarbon concentration decreased significantly (p<0,01) from 18840 ppm to 7925,3 ppm, representing a 57,9% of removal. The abiotic control did not show a significant decrease. This results suggest that the bioremediation of this soil is would be possible using the potential of the indigenous microflora.