3. Deepwater Horizon oil spill Oil spill on the gulf of Mexico on April 20 2010 It is the largest marine oil spill in the history 780 000 000L of crude oil were release to the sea The oil spill last for 3 months
4. How did it happen? Explosion happen when drilling unit tries to drill a new well A pressure apparently surged and could not be controlled Methane gas from the well under high pressure shoot all the way up and out of the drill column, expanded on the platform, and then ignited and explode
6. Impact on animals Oil is either: Dispersed into top layer of the ocean (aquatic wildlife directly subjected to oil toxicity and die off) Remains on the surface of the ocean On to coastal areas (oil clumps together to form tar balls which can be washed up onto coastal areas and affect the wildlife)
7. Oil can affect an organism via: Exposure (direct contact with the skin) Especially birds and mammals Rely on their outer coats for the ability to float and provide warmth. Drowning, hypothermia and smothering.
8. Oil can affect an organism via: Ingestion and/or inhalation Once Ingested or inhaled hydrocarbon, the hydrocarbon travels into the bloodstreams via respiratory tracts Mammals and birds: causing irritation and drowsiness Smaller organisms like plankton and larvae: abnormal reproduction and development
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10. Sea turtles Gulf of Mexico is home to 5 species of sea turtles, 4 has been listed endangered Oil spill occur during turtles nesting season Oil affect mature female hatching success rate Hatchlings potentially face direct oil exposure Over 6000 sea turtles have been affected !!!
11. Dolphins Swimming in oiled water Inhale toxic chemicals from oil when going to the surface for air. Eye and skin lesions from continuous exposure to oil Decreased body mass due to restricted diet Over 390 dolphins are affected !!!
12. Birds Slick makes the water look calm which cause birds to dive into oil Coated with oil thus unable the bird to regulate their temperature Cause hyperthermia and eventually death. Over than 82000 birds are affected !!!
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14. Environmental fate of oil in gulf Common to find oil in oil rich environment like gulf, thus hydrocarbon can be taken care of by many natural, physical and biological process
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16. More oil content = more microbes community = higher rate of biodegradationSettling 25% oil spilled settled in sea floor UV Ray
18. Cleaned up via human effort Booms Separate surface oil and collect them Booms
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20. Cleaned up via human effort Sorbent Absorb oil onto their surface Made of plastic or clay
21. Cleaned up via human effort In-situ burning Ignite oil Very efficient Hydrocarbon burn and converted to toxic compounds which are carcinogenic Water pollution turns into air pollution
28. What is Bioremediation? It is the use of microorganism to degrade chemical pollutants (especially hydrocarbon) Least environmental impact Highest efficiency Many forms of bioremediation using different microorganism
29. Bioremediation 1: using indigenous microbial population Oil eating microbes are native microbes found in the gulf Adapted well to environment with hydrocarbon as they utilize it for energy source Scientist first chosen oil eating microbes for bioremediation in gulf spill But many challenges faced
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31. But no man made microbes are more effective than natural ones
32. Because hydrocarbon is complex = need complex communities of microbes to break them down
33. Thus man made microbes cannot compete with the complex communities which adapted well to environment
36. Many creature did not die due to oil but because lack of oxygen and nutrients Problems: 1. Thus create more environmental ill effect 2. Further slowing rate of recovery 3. To mix sufficient oxygen into gulf, magnitude of scale of a hurricane is needed
37. Challenges of using indigenous microbial population Nutrients High microbes population = not enough nutrients in sea to feed bacteria growth Add nutrients will only magnified problems
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39. However deeper down the sea = decrease in temperature = decrease in metabolism = slow biodegradation Problem: 1. Oil sunk 800-1400m deep
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41. Deep down into the sea = no oxygen therefore only anaerobes strive Problem: 1. Whatever is consumed by the aerobes in 10 days = done by anaerobes in 1 years
43. Using arch microbes A less toxic dispersal agent A strain of naturally-occurring oxygen producing microbes that break down oil without using toxins Consume oil without damaging the environment. Not genetically engineered and help add more oxygen to water, thus help to repair dead zone and sustain ocean life
44. Using arch microbes Shown to have 99.97% effectiveness during a clean up effort in Louisiana It works underwater thus able to restore dead zone link to deep sea oil plumes More effective compared to other microbial product available
45. Using PRP The world standard for oil-spill clean up Consists of microscopic, hollow balls of beeswax which contain nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium)
55. Nutrients in the PRP encourage the microbes to eat and flourish till oil is gone
56. The matrix will float on the surface of the water creating an ideal condition for biodegradation to take place as it allow PRP to obtain moisture and gain oxygen from ambient air
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58. PRP repels water and stay floated. Thus able to maintain its position on water surface
72. Using cotton Cotton waste fibres not only able to absorb and hold oil, but they also have microbes that consume oil from the marine environment and bioremediate the oil into stable waste
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76. Using fungi The mushrooms are free of petroleum products after digesting them The oyster mushrooms not only broke down oil, but also allowed other life forms to thrive thus able to restore habitat Cheap and sustainable
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78. Grow in saltwater, at a rate of 75 percent, which is still extremely good considering the fast growth rate of oyster mushrooms.
81. The native strains of oyster mushrooms can be amplified to be used specifically in areas of the Gulf that are being affected by the oil spill
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83. Conclusion Although Bioremediation is able to deal with intractable environmental problems, there are still certain challenges faced in application of it. It is important for us to learn and understand how the microorganisms interact with different environments. With increasing understanding, only will the efficiency and applicability of Bioremediation grow.
