Journal of Proteomics & Bioinformatics
Open Access

Abstract

Biodegradation of Crude Oil in Marine Medium

Zohra Chekroud, Mona Khamees Gouda and Moussa Houhamdi

this work a laboratory study was carried out to investigate the efficiency of some microbial strains to degrade crude oil in a marine medium to be used in the bioremediation of oil polluted sea in Skikda, the North-East of Algeria. Two bacterial strains isolated from different hydrocarbon contaminated sites in Skikda, in addition to a consortium isolated from hydrocarbon contaminated site in Alexandria (Egypt) were tested for their capacity to degrade oil in a marine medium. The strains were able to degrade 81-90% of 1% of oil after 15 days of incubation. The two local strains were identified as Pseudomonas sp. S and Rhodococcus sp. S. The use of local urea as nitrogen source with local phosphorus fertiliser slightly stimulated oil biodegradation by Rhodococcus sp. S and Pseudomonas sp. S and slightly inhibited oil degradation by the consortium. The addition of chemical surfactants stimulated the rate of oil degradation. The concentration of oil was elevated from 1 to 6 % in presence of Triton X-100. The microorganisms were able to degrade 88-90% of 2% of oil after 15 days of incubation. The immobilisation of bacterial strains on wheat straw reduced the incubation time to 12 days. The results of this work revealed that bioremediation using bacterial strains is an effective technique for the decontamination of crude oil polluted marine media.