Bioremediation of Petroleum-Contaminated Soil using Associated Microbes

Abstract

The current study was conducted to determine the bacterial species present in the petroleum-contaminated soils of various workshops, as well as to assess the rate of utilisation of petroleum products by the isolates. The soil samples were taken from five different mechanic shops in Tiruchirappalli Corporation, Tamil Nadu, India. To isolate bacterial species from petroleum-contaminated soils, soil samples were plated on nutrient agar, desoxycholate citrate agar, brilliant green agar, blood agar etc. The bacterial isolates isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil were  Pseudomonas sp., Micrococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Salmonella sp., E. coli sp., Klebsiella sp., Streptococcus sp. Among the varied bacterial isolates Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Streptococcus sp., Micrococcus sp., utilized all the test substrates as petrol, diesel and kerosene. The research shows that Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Streptococcus sp., and Micrococcus sp. can use petroleum products in the soil.