Hydrocarbon Remediation by Patagonian Microbial Consortia

MARINA L. NIEVAS EL MAKTE; MARCELA SEPÚLVEDA; FEDERICO DEL BRIO; ROSANA POLIFRONI

Biology and Biotechnology of Patagonian Microorganisms

Springer International Publishing AG

Año: 2016; p. 43 - 69

Hydrocarbon Remediation by Patagonian Microbial ConsortiaMarina L. Nievas1, Rosana Polifroni1, Federico del Brio1 and Marcela A. Sepúlveda1Abstract Petroleum hydrocarbons enter massively into the marine environment worldwide causing serious environmental pollution. Among the technologies for recovering hydrocarbon polluted sites, bioremediation is actually competitive, being of particular interest the biotechnological applications for wastewater and residue treatment. Firstly in this Chapter we introduce hydrocarbon bioremediation focusing on the composition of petroleum and derived product, the hydrocarbon biodegradation capabilities of microorganisms of the marine environment and the biodegradation of complex mixtures by microbial consortium. Then, the context of petroleum hydrocarbons in the Argentinean Patagonia coast is depicted and recent advances in bioprospection of hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms recovered from hydrocarbon polluted sediments are reviewed. Finally, we discuss bilge waste bioremediation by Patagonian autochthonous microbial consortium as a treatment alternative. Particularly, researches focus on the physico-chemical properties of bilge waste, biodegradation extent of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon availability affecting biodegradation performance, bioremediation trials at different experimental scales, and description of bilge waste microbial community members responsible of degradation are reviewed.