Explain treatment of oil pollution using bioremediation
Answers
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The spilling of petroleum into our natural waterways is a major issue, and petroleum causes both acute and long term issues. Oil is harvested and processed in so many ways, there is a lot of room for error. These spills can be caused by tankers, refineries, drilling operations, or even storage facilities.[1] Regardless of how petroleum is released into nature, spills account for high percentages of marine death and complicate vegetative life.[1] When oil leaks into an ecosystem, it alters the balance of both the habitat and the organisms that live there. These organisms experience altered growth and reproduction patterns, anatomical complications, and increased susceptibility to hypothermia.[2] The water resistant properties of birds and mammals are compromised due to matting of fur and exposed skin.[3]
Along with this, petroleum is toxic. Petroleum, or crude oil, is a complex mixture of many hydrocarbons and can be used as raw material or lubricant.[4] It is known to contain upwards of 17,000 organic compounds[5] and both volatile organic compounds (VOC's), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's).[6] VOC's can be carcinogenic and evaporate into the air very easily, making them toxic when taken in.[6] PAH's have some of the same effects, and can last much longer in the environment.[6] In many expansive oil spills, such as the Exxon Valdez or BP Deepwater Horizon incidents, substantial effects were seen when petroleum was released into those marine ecosystems.
Oil degrading organisms have evolved to use the hydrocarbons and organic compounds in petroleum as energy, and use molecular transfer mechanisms to denature these toxins.[9] The aerobic and anaerobic properties of these microbes allow them to respire and ferment compounds as well, and this tends to result in the transformation of toxins into innocuous compounds.[9] These compounds have more stable pH levels, increased solubility in water, and are less aggressive molecularly. It is known that the composition of oil-degrading microorganisms in marine ecosystems is originally less than 1%. When these organisms are given the necessary substrate, they tend to thrive and grow to almost 10% of the complete microbiome.[5] Dependent on physical and chemical properties, petroleum-degenerative microorganisms take longer to degrade high-molecular weighted compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's). These microbes require a wide array of enzymes for the breakdown of petroleum, and require very specific nutrient composition to work at an efficient rate.