Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

TREATABILITY STUDY OF SLURRY BIOREACTOR TECHNOLOGY FOR BIOREMEDIATION OF PETROLEUM CONTAMINATED SOIL

Vikrant Gaikwad and Shikha Gaikwad

Abstract

Bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil is studied using the slurry bioreactor. This method overcomes the limitations of the mass transfer rates and thereby improves the extent of degradation as compared to the conventional bioremediation techniques. Soil from crude oil producing well site was used for the study. Three different microorganisms were isolated and their bio-surfactant producing capacity was studied. The three best organisms were used for bioremediation using slurry bioreactor. The reduction in the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) for different microorganisms was studied over the period of 72 hours. The variation in other parameters such as Dissolved Oxygen (DO), pH and Colony Forming Units (CFU/mL) was studied. The criterion for selection of microorganism suitable for the bioremediation process using slurry reactor is proposed. The current work highlights the importance of the treatability studies in the bioremediation of contaminated soil for large scale applications of slurry reactor technology.