COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON BIODEGRADATION OF PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON BY TWO EFFECTIVE MICROORGANISMSA. Ananth, V. Masilamani and S. RajanAbstract It is known that bacteria and fungi are the principle petroleum degrading microorganisms. Therefore, the study of the petroleum hydrocarbon degradation was accomplished by filamentous fungi and bacteria to evaluate the potential of strains, previously isolated from three different petrol bank soil, accidentally contaminated with crude oil. The results of such an evaluation allowed the selection of those microorganisms with ability to degrade petroleum, added as the only carbon and energy source to a mineral medium. The selected strains were submitted to identification, being the following genera detected: Pseudomonas putida and Aspergillus niger. Gravimetric analysis showed that Pseudomonas putida degraded the oil in 5 days at 40 °C and pH as neutral whereas Aspergillus niger degraded 30°c. Gas chromatographic analysis revealed that after 5 days the Pseudomonas putida strain was able to degrade hydrocarbon components more effectively than the other Aspergillus strains. |