The Chemistry Of Organic Contaminants

Bioremediation is the process in which microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts, molds, and filamentous fungi are introduced into the spills. The introduction of these microorganisms assists in altering and metabolizing various chemical compounds present in oil. When the microorganisms metabolize these certain compounds it significantly reduces the time it takes for the oil biodegradation to occur.

Besides the ideal physical structure for oil and gas reservoirs formed in the Gulf of Mexico, the nature also prepared all of other necessary conditions to form and accumulate oil and gas, such as organic source, pressure and temperature. According to the chemical and biological description, Oil is basically a mix of naturally occurring organic compounds from within the earth that contain primarily hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. Dead animals, algae and bacteria, which are considered as the fundamental source to form oil and gas, were absolutely abundant at the early Jurassic era, when the Gulf of Mexico basin was just well formed. After the death of living creatures such as animal and plants, most of their bodies are destroyed by bacteria. Some of these organic material settled down to the bottom of the seafloor, where there was no oxygen at all, being protected from the bacterial actions. Through certain chemical reaction, the leftover organic material mixed with sediments turned into a substance named Kerogen .

Bioremediation is the use of bacteria, fungi, some types of transformed bacteria, and other microbes in the decomposition of garbage and breaking down of petroleum products. An example of where a transformed bacteria was used to reduce pollution is seen when scientists broke down naphthalene, an environmental pollutant found in soils that are artificially created, by using genetically altered pseudomonas fluorescents. This bacteria is stimulated to uptake the gene for fluorescence so that when it breaks down the naphthalene it produces light. The light produced depends on the amount of chemical the bacteria breaks down, allowing scientists to monitor the efficiency of the process. The Exon-Valdez oil spill is a famous example that involves the use of transformed bacteria that was genetically engineered to breakdown hydrocarbons in

On April 20, 2010 the Macondo Blowout, the largest accidental oil spill in the GoM and the second largest in the world, released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil (Atlas and Hazen 2011). This significant ecological perturbation of the sea and coastal region has led to negative impacts in local fishing, aquaculture and tourism (National Health Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (US) Gulf Ecology Division 1999; Yanez-Arancibia and Day 2004; Arreguin-Sanchez et al. 2004; Ritchie and Keller 2008). Since the occurrence of the oil spill, most studies used molecular approaches including NextGen sequencing technology to assess the diversity and metabolism of complex microbial communities in oil-contaminated environments, particularly samples collected from off-shore locations surrounding the Macondo Blowout (Evans et al. 2004; Bordenave et al. 2007; Cappello et al. 2007; Liang et al. 2007; dos Santos et al. 2011;

(I) Motor oil range organics is performed if the source of the petroleum hydrocarbons in soil is from heavy petroleum fractions. This includes hydraulic fluids, motor oils, lubricating oils, cutting oils, mineral oils, and transmission fluids. The samples will need to be analyzed for the following: benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, chrysene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, acenaphthene, anthracene, fluoranthene, fluorene, pyrene, and total petroleum hydrocarbons. Similar to residual range organics (C25-C36).

In the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the natural oil eating bacteria were able to curb the spreading of the oil in certain areas. Furthermore, the bacteria consumed “at least 200,000 tons of oil and natural gas that spewed into the Gulf [of Mexico] following the BP Deepwater Horizon spill”(LiveScience 1). The bacteria’s removal of 200,000 tons of oil proved incredibly effective since human efforts would have been much more costly and inefficient. These microorganisms convert the oil into fuel with nitrogen acquired from the air. Although high levels of this beneficial organism may lead to competition with other bacteria, a moderate amount with human supervision would create a natural solution to oil spills. As hefty environmental fines are placed on large oil companies such as BP and Exxon Mobile, the Environmental Protection Agency’s fund increases in large jolts, in most oil spill incidents, the company that begat the accident takes full or major responsibility and effort to restore the environment to its prior state. So where does the EPA come in? The engineered microbes have not been developed to be as efficient as the existing microbes, but the EPA can mass produce the existing microbes and deploy them into the oil battlegrounds using the fines they received. Breeding these microbes are fairly simple and cost-effective for all they require is a constant supply of nutrients and they will rapidly multiply. As a natural way of consuming toxic petroleum, oil eating bacteria are an economical and non-lethal antidote for the

The oil plume in the Gulf of Mexico is a direct environmental impact on subjects like eutrophication of

During use, new oil picks up toxic chemicals, carcinogenic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals which harm the environment and public health when used oil is disposed of improperly. One pint of oil can produce a slick covering approximately one acre of water. Used oil in waterways threatens fish, waterfowl, insects and aquatic life. In salt water, oil kills the microscopic plankton and algae that form the base of the marine food web. Very small amounts of oil spilled in the habitat of fish and shellfish can contaminate their flavor. Used oil seeps through landfills and soils to contaminate groundwater supplies. One quart of oil can foul the taste and purity of 250,000 gallons of water. Used oil applied to roads as a dust suppressant causes water

When breaking down the oil components, bacteria store the energy released to fuel their own cellular processes. Over millions of years, bacteria have evolved enzymes that are specific for the particular degradation reactions to break down the many types hydrocarbons. Some of the simpler compounds can be degraded by a very wide variety of bacteria, but the ability to degrade other compounds such as aromatic hydrocarbons is found in fewer species. No one bacterium can make all the different enzymes. Each kind of bacterium specializes in only a few hydrocarbons as preferred food sources. Most microbial oil degradation occurs by aerobic respiration, meaning that the oil-degrading microbes take in oxygen and burn oil hydrocarbons for energy. In the absence of oxygen, microbes have other mechanisms to degrade hydrocarbons for energy. Biodegradation of oil constituents without oxygen (i.e., under anoxic conditions) is much slower but anoxic processes may be relevant to the long-term restoration

Undersea life there tends to grow slowly, so that subtle effects on reproduction may take time to become apparent. Submersibles in the area of the spill detected an enormous undersea plume of oil 3,600 to 4,300 feet deep and hundreds of miles long. Oxygen levels plummeted inside the plume, suggesting that ocean microbes were consuming the components of the oil. These oil-eating microbes occur naturally in the gulf and as much as 3,000 barrels of oil per day seep naturally from the ocean floor, making oil a part of the environment. Communities of tube worms have grown around the oil seeps, showing that some sea life has adapted to the oil. However, the oil remains poisonous to much undersea life, with deep corals being particularly vulnerable. Deep-sea animal life is adapted to a stable environment and is not suited to rapid changes of temperature and chemical composition. Microbes are more flexible, and are critical to the chemical balance of the atmosphere, consuming carbon dioxide, methane, propane, and heavy oil components (Harvard Gazette). These microbes are distributed widely in the gulf and can reproduce rapidly when they come into contact with oil.

In this essay, I will be answering two questions; How do prokaryotic organisms differ from eukaryotic organisms in their ability to clean up crude oil in marine environments? What were some of the challenges these scientists faced when figuring out how microbes could clean up the Horizon Oil Spill, and whether these microbes would can restore the natural balance afterwards?

Urban and rural areas need bioremediation because they have different problems. Some uses of bioremediation include cleaning up crude oil, gasoline, pesticides, and sewage. In 2010, a massive oil spill had taken place in the Gulf of Mexico which had been a massive hazard to the animals and even the humans. Cleaning up the oil was risky for humans, so the idea of using bioremediators came up. Also, TNT and other explosives can be broken down when plants are are engineered to contain certain bacterial enzymes.

Gas and oil deposits are typically found inside sedimentary rocks because of decomposing plants and animals trapped in layers of rocks. These rocks being usually consisting of clay pieces, sand, and mud. These rocks are layered and deposited on sediment layers. The remains of small organic materials such as zooplankton and algae form petroleum. Vast quantities of these remains settled to sea or lake bottoms, mixing with sediments and being buried under anoxic conditions. The heat and pressure over millions of years have turned the mud to rock and the organic materials to petroleum. The formation of petroleum occurs in two steps. The first step is Diagenesis, the second step is Catagenesis.

ASSAY OF OIL-DEGRADING POTENTIAL OF FUNGI ISOLATES ON DIESEL, KEROSENE AND PETROL USING ENRICHMENT METHOD.

and fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) in a crude oil impacted garden soil. Nig. J. Microbiol. 21:1572-1577.