Biodegradation of Kuwait crude oil in the presence and absence of the dispersant Corexit

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:7004549

Romeu, A A

Kuwait crude oil was subjected to a time series, laboratory simulation of biodegradation by incubation in nutrient enhanced seawater with a mixed culture of oil degrading microorganisms isolated from the Gulf of Mexico. The effect of a non-toxic, biodegradable dispersant on these processes was evaluated. More than 40% of the initial mass of the oil was lost after 92 days, of which 25% was attributed to biodegradation. Biodegradation of n-alkanes was rapid, with most of the loss of individual compounds occurring in the first 30 days of incubation. There was a preference for n-alkanes with chain lengths less than C/sub 24/. Longer chain n-alkanes were degraded concurrently with simple aromatics. The isoprenoids were less preferred than the n-alkanes, and pristane was preferred over phytane. The steranes and hopanes were not significantly biodegraded. However, the monoaromatic steranes showed significant amounts of biodegradation. There was preferential degradation of the individual aromatic compounds dependent on the degree of alkylation. The order of preference was approximately: naphthalene and C/sub 1/ naphthalene > C/sub 2/ naphthalene > phenanthrene and dibenzothiophene > C/sub 1/ phenanthrene and C/sub 1/ dibenzothiophene. The other aromatic homologs analyzed (C/sub 3/ naphthalene, and C/sub 2/ and C/sub 3/ phenanthrene and dibenzothiophene) were not affected within 92 days, but showed some loss in long-term (>1 year) incubations. This was interpreted as a continuation of the trends established after 92 days incubation. The use of dispersant Corexist 9527 temporarily retarded the degradation of hydrocarbons.

• Research Organization: Texas A and M Univ., College Station (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7004549
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM
BIODEGRADATION
SURFACTANTS
INHIBITION
ALKANES
AROMATICS
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
KUWAIT
LOSSES
MICROORGANISMS
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
OIL SPILLS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
TIME DEPENDENCE
ASIA
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
MIDDLE EAST
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
TESTING
020900* - Petroleum- Environmental Aspects