Laboratory studies evaluating the enhanced biodegradation of weathered crude oil components through the application of nutrients

Technical Report · Fri Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:6504508

Tabak, H H; Safferman, S I; Venosa, A D; Glaser, J A

Bench-scale biodegradability studies of the Alaskan weathered crude oil were undertaken as part of the bioremediation project for the shorelines of Prince William Sound, Alaska, contaminated by the Exxon oil spill. The purpose of the studies was to evaluate the capability of the indigenous microbial consortium of the sea water and island beach areas, to biodegrade the weathered crude oil alkane hydrocarbon and polynuclear aromatic (PAH) constituents in batch-type respirometric reactors and shaker flask systems. Biodegradation studies incorporated the use of Inipol EAP 22 as the fertilizer nutrient source. In the respirometric studies, the unpolluted beach material in seawater was spiked with 1,000, 300, and 100 mg/L of weathered crude oil and with Inipol at 5% of oil weight was used in shaker flask studies. Temperature of incubation in both studies was 15 C and culture systems were incubated in darkness. Cumulative oxygen uptake data, growth data and GC/MS analysis data demonstrate almost complete utilization of the alkane hydrocarbon constituents in the presence of Inipol fertilizer and significant biodegradation of the PAH constituents after 6 weeks of incubation.

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH (USA). Risk Reduction Engineering Lab.
• OSTI ID: 6504508
• Report Number(s): PB-90-264011/XAB; EPA--600/D-90/139
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020900* -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540250 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
540350 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
ALASKA
ALKANES
AROMATICS
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
BIODEGRADATION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
COASTAL WATERS
CONTAMINATION
DECOMPOSITION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION X
FERTILIZERS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
GROWTH
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MICROORGANISMS
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUTRIENTS
OIL SPILLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PETROLEUM
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
SEAWATER
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOILS
SPECTROSCOPY
SURFACE WATERS
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TESTING
TIME DEPENDENCE
USA
WATER
WEATHERING