Impact of bioremediation strategies on slurry phase treatment of aged oily sludge from a refinery.

Aged oily sludge was subjected to long term (90 day) slurry phase treatment (10% w/v oily sludge) using various biodegradation strategies involving intermittent spiking with nutrients (N), surfactant (S) and microorganisms (M), employed singly or in combination. The strategy involving simultaneous addition of N, S, and M (BNMS) resulted in the highest rate (0.0126 day) and extent of oil degradation (68.

Characterization, phylogenetic distribution and evolutionary trajectories of diverse hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms isolated from refinery sludge.

Phylogenic association between bacteria living under harsh conditions can provide important information on adaptive mechanism, survival strategy and their potential application. Indigenous microorganisms isolated from toxic refinery oily sludge with ability to degrade a diverse range of hydrocarbons were identified and characterized. The strains including RS1, sp.

Characterization of oily sludge from a refinery and biodegradability assessment using various hydrocarbon degrading strains and reconstituted consortia.

Oily sludge obtained from a refinery in India contained 10-11% oil associated with fine particulates. Along with Fe, Ca and Mg various toxic elements were associated with the sludge solids (Pb, Mn, Cu, Zn, As, Bi, Cd, Cr, Co, Ni and V). The oil contained 41-56% asphaltenes and the maltenes comprised of 49 ± 4%, 42 ± 2% and 4 ± 2%, aliphatic, aromatic and polar fractions, respectively.

Biodegradation of pyrene by a Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain RS1 isolated from refinery sludge.

High molecular weight (HMW) polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with more than three rings are inherently difficult to degrade. Degradation of HMW PAHs is primarily reported for actinomycetes, such as, Rhodococcus and Mycobacterium. This study reports pyrene degradation by a Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain isolated from tank bottom sludge in a refinery.

Evaluation of bioaugmentation and biostimulation effects on the treatment of refinery oily sludge using 2(n) full factorial design.

Bioremediation approaches for the treatment of oily sludge from a refinery were evaluated using a 2(3) factorial design. The three strategies tested were bioaugmentation with indigenous microbial consortia (MO) isolated from oily sludge, biostimulation with nutrients (NP) and biostimulation with the surfactant Triton X-100 (TX). Eight experimental runs were conducted in triplicate with factor settings ± (high/low) as per the 2(3) design.

Practical considerations and challenges involved in surfactant enhanced bioremediation of oil.

Surfactant enhanced bioremediation (SEB) of oil is an approach adopted to overcome the bioavailability constraints encountered in biotransformation of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) pollutants. Fuel oils contain n-alkanes and other aliphatic hydrocarbons, monoaromatics, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Although hydrocarbon degrading cultures are abundant in nature, complete biodegradation of oil is rarely achieved even under favorable environmental conditions due to the structural complexity of oil and culture specificities.