1. The document discusses biological recovery from oil spills, including the environmental effects of oil spills and various cleanup methods. It also examines the role of genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs) in biodegrading pollutants.
2. Key cleanup methods include booms, skimming, solidifiers, dispersants, and bioremediation using oil-consuming bacteria. GEMs have been developed to enhance biodegradation by modifying enzyme specificity and constructing new metabolic pathways.
3. While GEMs show potential for degrading various hydrocarbons, field trials of GEMs for bioremediation remain limited due to regulations and public concerns.
Bioremediation of heavy metals pollution by Udaykumar Pankajkumar BhanushaliUdayBhanushali111
Mechanisms and techniques used for Bioremediation which includes phytoremediation, Bacterial & fungal bioremediation. Examples of heavy metal pollution
Bioremediation of heavy metals pollution by Udaykumar Pankajkumar BhanushaliUdayBhanushali111
Mechanisms and techniques used for Bioremediation which includes phytoremediation, Bacterial & fungal bioremediation. Examples of heavy metal pollution
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGY
BIOREMEDIATION OF OIL SPILLS
CASE STUDY
CONCLUSION
Subtopics
Bio remediation in hot and cold environments
Use of Nitrogen fixing Bacteria
Bio remediation using fungi from soil samples
Bio remediation using bacteria and case studies
“Bioleaching" or "bio-oxidation" employs the use of naturally occurring bacteria, harmless to both humans and the environment, to extract of metals from their ores.
Conversion of insoluble metal sulfides into water-soluble metal sulfates.
It is mainly used to recover certain metals from sulfide ores. This is much cleaner than the traditional leaching.
Exposure to lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and selenite (SeO3−2) consider the main heavy metals that threat human health. These heavy metals can interfere with the function of vital cellular components. Soil heavy metal contamination represents risks to humans and the ecosystem through drinking of contaminated groundwater, direct ingestion or the food chain, and reduction in food quality. Bioremediation means cleanup of polluted environment via transformation of toxic heavy metals into less toxic form by microbes or its enzymes. Otherwise, bioremediation by microbes has limitations like production of toxic metabolites. The efflux of metal ions outside the cell, biosorption to the cell walls and entrapment in extracellular capsules, precipitation, and reduction of the heavy metal ions to a less toxic state are mechanisms to metals’ resistance.
Hydrocarbon are major constituents of crude oil and petroleum. They can be biodegraded by naturally-occurring microorganisms in freshwater and marine environments under a variety of aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The ability of microorganisms - bacteria, archaea, fungi, or algae - to break down hydrocarbons is the basis for natural and enhanced bioremediation. To promote biodegradation, amendments such as nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer are often added to stimulate microbial growth and metabolism
•Introduction of bioremediation: Bioremediation refers to the process of using microorganisms to remove the environmental pollutants i.e. toxic wastes found in soil, water, air etc.
•In situ bioremediation:
It involves a direct approach for the microbial
degradation of xenobiotics at the sites of pollution
(soil, ground water).
•Types of in situ bioremediation:
Natural attenuation.
Engineered in situ bioremediation.
- Bioventing, biosparging, bioslurping,
phytoremediation.
•Ex situ bioremediation:
Waste or toxic pollutants can be collected from the polluted sites and bioremediation can be carried out at a designated place or site.
• Types of ex situ bioremediation
Land farming, windrow, biopiles, bioreactors.
•Microorganisms use in bioremediation:
A number of naturally occurring marine microbes
such as Pseudomonas sp. is capable of degrading oil and other hydrocarbons.
•Factors affecting bioremediation:
Nutrient availability, moisture content, pH, temperature, contaminant availability.
•References:
Satyanarayana U. Biotechnology. BOOKS AND ALLIED (P) Ltd.
Sharma P.D. Environmental Microbiology. RASTOGI PUBLICATIONS.
Gupta P.K. Biotechnology and Genomics. RASTOGI PUBLICATIONS.
Dubey R.C. A Textbook of Biotechnology. S Chand And Company Ltd.
Dubey R.C. A Textbook of Microbiology. S Chand And Company Ltd.
Willey/Sherwood/Woolverton. Prescott’s Microbiology. McGRAW-HILL INTERNATIONAL EDITION.
www.sciencedirect.com/bioremediation.
Biosurfactants: An Environmentally Friendly Solution for Oil SpillsZaighamKamal
Can biosurfactants increase microbiological oil degradation in North Sea seawater? An international research team has been exploring this question and the results have revealed the potential for a more effective and environmentally friendly oil spill response.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGY
BIOREMEDIATION OF OIL SPILLS
CASE STUDY
CONCLUSION
Subtopics
Bio remediation in hot and cold environments
Use of Nitrogen fixing Bacteria
Bio remediation using fungi from soil samples
Bio remediation using bacteria and case studies
“Bioleaching" or "bio-oxidation" employs the use of naturally occurring bacteria, harmless to both humans and the environment, to extract of metals from their ores.
Conversion of insoluble metal sulfides into water-soluble metal sulfates.
It is mainly used to recover certain metals from sulfide ores. This is much cleaner than the traditional leaching.
Exposure to lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and selenite (SeO3−2) consider the main heavy metals that threat human health. These heavy metals can interfere with the function of vital cellular components. Soil heavy metal contamination represents risks to humans and the ecosystem through drinking of contaminated groundwater, direct ingestion or the food chain, and reduction in food quality. Bioremediation means cleanup of polluted environment via transformation of toxic heavy metals into less toxic form by microbes or its enzymes. Otherwise, bioremediation by microbes has limitations like production of toxic metabolites. The efflux of metal ions outside the cell, biosorption to the cell walls and entrapment in extracellular capsules, precipitation, and reduction of the heavy metal ions to a less toxic state are mechanisms to metals’ resistance.
Hydrocarbon are major constituents of crude oil and petroleum. They can be biodegraded by naturally-occurring microorganisms in freshwater and marine environments under a variety of aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The ability of microorganisms - bacteria, archaea, fungi, or algae - to break down hydrocarbons is the basis for natural and enhanced bioremediation. To promote biodegradation, amendments such as nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer are often added to stimulate microbial growth and metabolism
•Introduction of bioremediation: Bioremediation refers to the process of using microorganisms to remove the environmental pollutants i.e. toxic wastes found in soil, water, air etc.
•In situ bioremediation:
It involves a direct approach for the microbial
degradation of xenobiotics at the sites of pollution
(soil, ground water).
•Types of in situ bioremediation:
Natural attenuation.
Engineered in situ bioremediation.
- Bioventing, biosparging, bioslurping,
phytoremediation.
•Ex situ bioremediation:
Waste or toxic pollutants can be collected from the polluted sites and bioremediation can be carried out at a designated place or site.
• Types of ex situ bioremediation
Land farming, windrow, biopiles, bioreactors.
•Microorganisms use in bioremediation:
A number of naturally occurring marine microbes
such as Pseudomonas sp. is capable of degrading oil and other hydrocarbons.
•Factors affecting bioremediation:
Nutrient availability, moisture content, pH, temperature, contaminant availability.
•References:
Satyanarayana U. Biotechnology. BOOKS AND ALLIED (P) Ltd.
Sharma P.D. Environmental Microbiology. RASTOGI PUBLICATIONS.
Gupta P.K. Biotechnology and Genomics. RASTOGI PUBLICATIONS.
Dubey R.C. A Textbook of Biotechnology. S Chand And Company Ltd.
Dubey R.C. A Textbook of Microbiology. S Chand And Company Ltd.
Willey/Sherwood/Woolverton. Prescott’s Microbiology. McGRAW-HILL INTERNATIONAL EDITION.
www.sciencedirect.com/bioremediation.
Biosurfactants: An Environmentally Friendly Solution for Oil SpillsZaighamKamal
Can biosurfactants increase microbiological oil degradation in North Sea seawater? An international research team has been exploring this question and the results have revealed the potential for a more effective and environmentally friendly oil spill response.
Petroleum Microbiology is a state-of-the-art presentation of the specific microbes that inhabit oil reservoirs, with an emphasis on the ecological significance of anaerobic microorganisms. An intriguing introduction to extremophilic microbes, the book considers the various beneficial and detrimental effects of bacteria and archaea indigenous to the oil field environment. Presenting fundamental and applied biological approaches, the book serves as an invaluable reference source for petroleum engineers, remediation professionals, and field researchers.
Oil or Crude oil is the remains of antiquated plants and animals, compressed profound within the soil into fluid strings of hydrogen and carbon.
Ancient Greeks gave it the title petroleum, from the Greek "petra" meaning rock, and "oleum" meaning oil. crude oil and petroleum fossil fuels because they are mixtures of hydrocarbons that formed from the remains of animals and plants (diatoms) that lived millions of years ago in a marine environment before the existence of dinosaurs
Over millions of years, the remains of these animals and plants were covered by layers of sand, silt, and rock. Heat and pressure from these layers turned the remains into.
Oil is an ancient fossil fuel that we use to heat our homes, generate electricity, and power large sectors of our economy. But
when oil accidentally spills into the ocean, it can cause big problems. Oil spills can harm sea creatures, ruin a day at the beach, and make seafood unsafe to eat. It takes sound science to clean up the oil, measure the impacts of pollution, and help the ocean recover.
Inhalation of vapor, touching oil slicks and consuming contaminated sea food
Exposure may cause neurological, acute toxic effects, ocular (eye) and also problems of respiratory system.
People living in effected areas showed nausea, throat infections, nose and eye irritations etc along with migraines and headaches.
Ingestion of oil produces in sea food is
dangerous as oil products having
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAH). These are human carcinogens.
Bioremediation refers to the process of using microorganisms to remove the environmental pollutants i.e. the toxic wastes found in soil, water, air etc. The microbes serve as scavengers in bioremediation. The removal of organic wastes by microbes for environmental clean-up is the essence of bioremediation. The other names used (by some authors) for bioremediation are bio-treatment, bio-reclamation and bio-restoration.
Bioremediation of soil: A soil sample ((desert soil/soil with oil spills) ) was saturated with crude oil (17.3%, w/w) and aliquots were diluted to different extents with either pristine desert or petrol pump’s soils. Heaps of all samples were exposed to outdoor conditions through six months, and were repeatedly irrigated with water and mixed thoroughly. Quantitative determination of the residual oil in the samples revealed that oil-bioremediation in the undiluted heaps was nearly as equally effective as in the diluted ones. One month after starting the experiment. 53 to 63% of oil was removed. During the subsequent five months, 14 to 24% of the oil continued to be consumed by the microbes. The dynamics of the hydrocarbonoclastic bacterial communities in the heaps was monitored. The highest numbers of those organisms coordinated chronologically with the maximum oil-removal. Out of the identified bacterial species, those affiliated with the genera Nocardioides (especially N. deserti), Dietzia (especially D. papillomatosis), Microbacterium, Micrococcus, Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Cellulomonas, Gordonia and others were main contributors to the oil-consumption. Some species, e.g. D. papillomatosis showed the maximum tolerance compared with all the other studied isolates. It was concluded that even in oil-saturated soil, self-cleaning proceeds at a normal rate.
An oil spill is a release of crude oil or refined petroleum products into the environment, such as oceans, rivers, lakes, or land. Oil spills can be caused by a variety of factors, including accidents during transportation, storage, or drilling operations, natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes.
The Concerned Civilian Miami, Florida Dec.docxmehek4
The
Concerned
Civilian
Miami, Florida
December 8, 2015
$1.25
✫Special Edition: Oil spills✫
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
2
Oil Spills
Author: Quinn Glassey
How much oil do we use?
Nearly all crude oil imported into the United States is directly refined into petroleum products, including
gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, and jet fuel. Because of this, crude oil is directly consumed less frequently than
refined oils. Liquids produced from natural gas processing are also consumed as petroleum
products. Renewable biofuels, such as ethanol and
biodiesel, can be used as a substitute for or an
additive to refined petroleum products.
An ocean oil rig
I
mage credit: http://world-fuel.me/HTML/button_09_selected_html/button_09_selected.htm
According to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA), in 2014, the United States
consumed a total of 6.97 billion barrels of
petroleum products, an average of about 19.11
million barrels per day. The entire World uses
approximately 85 million barrels a day; that is
about 3,570,000,000 gallons of oil.
Image credit: http://misfitsarchitecture.com/tag/oil-rigs/
3
What is an oil spill?
An oil spill is a form of pollution. Due to human activity,
liquid petroleum hydrocarbon is released into the
environment. The term is usually applied to marine oil spills,
where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but
spills may also occur on land.
Effects of oil spills on marine life
Ingestion: By ingesting oil or byproducts of oil spills,
gastrointestinal irritation problems can arise in marine life. These include ulcers, bleeding, diarrhea,
and digestive complications. These issues often lead to the inability of the animals to digest and absorb foods,
obviously leading to lack of nutrients and starvation. Ingestion can occur at multiple levels of the food chain.
Herbivores, such as sea turtles, end up consuming vegetation that has been coated with oil particles.
Carnivores, such as shorebirds that feed on clams, mussels, or worms consume organisms that have been
exposed to oil sediments washed onto the shoreline. Even if they do not directly ingest oil, these carnivorous
animals consume herbivores that have eaten chemical laden oil. Specifically, Baleen whales have a system of
filtering teeth; thick oil can clog their filter system, which often leads to starvation and death. Oil spills cause
immediate marine life illness and deaths. However, in the larger scale, oil spills affect the entire maritime food
chain by killing off top predators and their prey.
Absorption: Oil and dispersants seeps into marine organisms’ skin. This can cause liver and kidney damage,
which leads to anemia, suppressed immune system, induce reproductive failure, blindness, and possibly death.
Exposure to oil may irritate, burn, or cause infections to the skin of some species. Pregnant animals that absorb
the ...
Crude oil degradation by microorganismsrajani prabhu
importance of microorganism in bioremediation of crude oil contaminated sites. Mechanism of degradation of crude oil,methods used,Examples of organisms.
lab manual on biophysics, bioinformatics and biostaistics for under graduates...MSCW Mysore
covers topics like
light quantification ,beer lamberts law, molar extinction coefficient, absorption spectra,
databases,pubmed,entrez,retriving sequences and structural data .BLAST FASTA
Simple problems on central tendency and dispersion.
This pdf is about the Schizophrenia.
For more details visit on YouTube; @SELF-EXPLANATORY;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiarMZDNhe1A3Rnpr_WkzA/videos
Thanks...!
Professional air quality monitoring systems provide immediate, on-site data for analysis, compliance, and decision-making.
Monitor common gases, weather parameters, particulates.
Richard's aventures in two entangled wonderlandsRichard Gill
Since the loophole-free Bell experiments of 2020 and the Nobel prizes in physics of 2022, critics of Bell's work have retreated to the fortress of super-determinism. Now, super-determinism is a derogatory word - it just means "determinism". Palmer, Hance and Hossenfelder argue that quantum mechanics and determinism are not incompatible, using a sophisticated mathematical construction based on a subtle thinning of allowed states and measurements in quantum mechanics, such that what is left appears to make Bell's argument fail, without altering the empirical predictions of quantum mechanics. I think however that it is a smoke screen, and the slogan "lost in math" comes to my mind. I will discuss some other recent disproofs of Bell's theorem using the language of causality based on causal graphs. Causal thinking is also central to law and justice. I will mention surprising connections to my work on serial killer nurse cases, in particular the Dutch case of Lucia de Berk and the current UK case of Lucy Letby.
Cancer cell metabolism: special Reference to Lactate PathwayAADYARAJPANDEY1
Normal Cell Metabolism:
Cellular respiration describes the series of steps that cells use to break down sugar and other chemicals to get the energy we need to function.
Energy is stored in the bonds of glucose and when glucose is broken down, much of that energy is released.
Cell utilize energy in the form of ATP.
The first step of respiration is called glycolysis. In a series of steps, glycolysis breaks glucose into two smaller molecules - a chemical called pyruvate. A small amount of ATP is formed during this process.
Most healthy cells continue the breakdown in a second process, called the Kreb's cycle. The Kreb's cycle allows cells to “burn” the pyruvates made in glycolysis to get more ATP.
The last step in the breakdown of glucose is called oxidative phosphorylation (Ox-Phos).
It takes place in specialized cell structures called mitochondria. This process produces a large amount of ATP. Importantly, cells need oxygen to complete oxidative phosphorylation.
If a cell completes only glycolysis, only 2 molecules of ATP are made per glucose. However, if the cell completes the entire respiration process (glycolysis - Kreb's - oxidative phosphorylation), about 36 molecules of ATP are created, giving it much more energy to use.
IN CANCER CELL:
Unlike healthy cells that "burn" the entire molecule of sugar to capture a large amount of energy as ATP, cancer cells are wasteful.
Cancer cells only partially break down sugar molecules. They overuse the first step of respiration, glycolysis. They frequently do not complete the second step, oxidative phosphorylation.
This results in only 2 molecules of ATP per each glucose molecule instead of the 36 or so ATPs healthy cells gain. As a result, cancer cells need to use a lot more sugar molecules to get enough energy to survive.
Unlike healthy cells that "burn" the entire molecule of sugar to capture a large amount of energy as ATP, cancer cells are wasteful.
Cancer cells only partially break down sugar molecules. They overuse the first step of respiration, glycolysis. They frequently do not complete the second step, oxidative phosphorylation.
This results in only 2 molecules of ATP per each glucose molecule instead of the 36 or so ATPs healthy cells gain. As a result, cancer cells need to use a lot more sugar molecules to get enough energy to survive.
introduction to WARBERG PHENOMENA:
WARBURG EFFECT Usually, cancer cells are highly glycolytic (glucose addiction) and take up more glucose than do normal cells from outside.
Otto Heinrich Warburg (; 8 October 1883 – 1 August 1970) In 1931 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology for his "discovery of the nature and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme.
WARNBURG EFFECT : cancer cells under aerobic (well-oxygenated) conditions to metabolize glucose to lactate (aerobic glycolysis) is known as the Warburg effect. Warburg made the observation that tumor slices consume glucose and secrete lactate at a higher rate than normal tissues.
Earliest Galaxies in the JADES Origins Field: Luminosity Function and Cosmic ...Sérgio Sacani
We characterize the earliest galaxy population in the JADES Origins Field (JOF), the deepest
imaging field observed with JWST. We make use of the ancillary Hubble optical images (5 filters
spanning 0.4−0.9µm) and novel JWST images with 14 filters spanning 0.8−5µm, including 7 mediumband filters, and reaching total exposure times of up to 46 hours per filter. We combine all our data
at > 2.3µm to construct an ultradeep image, reaching as deep as ≈ 31.4 AB mag in the stack and
30.3-31.0 AB mag (5σ, r = 0.1” circular aperture) in individual filters. We measure photometric
redshifts and use robust selection criteria to identify a sample of eight galaxy candidates at redshifts
z = 11.5 − 15. These objects show compact half-light radii of R1/2 ∼ 50 − 200pc, stellar masses of
M⋆ ∼ 107−108M⊙, and star-formation rates of SFR ∼ 0.1−1 M⊙ yr−1
. Our search finds no candidates
at 15 < z < 20, placing upper limits at these redshifts. We develop a forward modeling approach to
infer the properties of the evolving luminosity function without binning in redshift or luminosity that
marginalizes over the photometric redshift uncertainty of our candidate galaxies and incorporates the
impact of non-detections. We find a z = 12 luminosity function in good agreement with prior results,
and that the luminosity function normalization and UV luminosity density decline by a factor of ∼ 2.5
from z = 12 to z = 14. We discuss the possible implications of our results in the context of theoretical
models for evolution of the dark matter halo mass function.
Multi-source connectivity as the driver of solar wind variability in the heli...Sérgio Sacani
The ambient solar wind that flls the heliosphere originates from multiple
sources in the solar corona and is highly structured. It is often described
as high-speed, relatively homogeneous, plasma streams from coronal
holes and slow-speed, highly variable, streams whose source regions are
under debate. A key goal of ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter mission is to identify
solar wind sources and understand what drives the complexity seen in the
heliosphere. By combining magnetic feld modelling and spectroscopic
techniques with high-resolution observations and measurements, we show
that the solar wind variability detected in situ by Solar Orbiter in March
2022 is driven by spatio-temporal changes in the magnetic connectivity to
multiple sources in the solar atmosphere. The magnetic feld footpoints
connected to the spacecraft moved from the boundaries of a coronal hole
to one active region (12961) and then across to another region (12957). This
is refected in the in situ measurements, which show the transition from fast
to highly Alfvénic then to slow solar wind that is disrupted by the arrival of
a coronal mass ejection. Our results describe solar wind variability at 0.5 au
but are applicable to near-Earth observatories.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE SAMPLE RETURN.Sérgio Sacani
The return of a sample of near-surface atmosphere from Mars would facilitate answers to several first-order science questions surrounding the formation and evolution of the planet. One of the important aspects of terrestrial planet formation in general is the role that primary atmospheres played in influencing the chemistry and structure of the planets and their antecedents. Studies of the martian atmosphere can be used to investigate the role of a primary atmosphere in its history. Atmosphere samples would also inform our understanding of the near-surface chemistry of the planet, and ultimately the prospects for life. High-precision isotopic analyses of constituent gases are needed to address these questions, requiring that the analyses are made on returned samples rather than in situ.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE SAMPLE RETURN.
Role of genetically engineered microorganisms in biodegradation
1. BIOLOGICAL RECOVERY OF OIL
SPILLS AND ROLE OF
G.E.MICRORGANISMS IN
BIODEGRADATION OF XENOBIOTICS
SARDAR HUSSAIN
[DATE]
GSC CTA
[Company address]
2. SARDAR HUSSAIN ASST PROF BIOTECHNOLOGY GSC CTA 1
1 Biological recovery of oil spills and Role OF G.E.Microrganisms in biodegradation
of xenobiotics
Introduction
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the off shore and on shore environment
due to human activity and is a form of serious pollution. Oil spills occur due to releases of crude oil from
tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products (such
as gasoline, diesel) and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the
spill of any oily refuse or waste oil. Another significant route by which oil enters the marine environment
is through natural oil seeps. Natural oil seeps generally occur with slow rate while due to human activity
are sudden, high in volume and are thus catastrophic. Some of the effects of oil spills arediscussed below:
Environmental effects of Oil Spill
1. Oil impairs a bird's ability to fly, preventing it from foraging or escaping from predators. As they preen,
birds may ingest the oil on their feathers which causes irritation in the digestive tract, altering liver
function, and causing kidney damage.
2. Oil penetrates into the structure of the plumageof birds and thus reduces its insulating ability andmaking
them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. It can cause
dehydration and metabolic imbalance in birds.
3. Some birds also experience changes in their hormonal balance including changes in their luteinizing
protein.
4. Furred marine mammals exposed to oil spills are affected in similar ways as birds.
5. Animals can be poisoned, and may die from oil entering the lungs or liver.
6. It leads to interrupt the food chain on which fish and sea creatures depend, and on which their
reproductive success is based.
7. Cleanup and Recovery:
Cleanup and recovery from an oil spill is difficult task. Although the physical removal of spilled oil,
cleaning and decontaminating the area assist large-scale recovery of the environment, but may harm
the substrate biomass.
Cleanup and recovery depends upon following factors some of which are interrelated;
-type of oil spilled,
-water temperature(affecting evaporation and biodegradation),
-types of shorelines and beaches involved
-ecological protection,
-socioeconomic effects,
-health risk
Environmental Recovery Rates:
The rate of recovery of the environment after an oil spill occurs depends on
-oil composition
3. SARDAR HUSSAIN ASST PROF BIOTECHNOLOGY GSC CTA 2
2 Biological recovery of oil spills and Role OF G.E.Microrganisms in biodegradation
of xenobiotics
-properties and the characteristics of the area impacted,
-theoutcome of intervention and remediation measures.
8. Methods for Cleaning Oil Spills:
9. Cleaning up oil spills involve an array of physical, chemical and biological methods as discussed
below;
1. Booms–Booms are temporary floating barriers used to contain an oil spill. They help
inconcentrating that so skimmers, vacuum can easily collect or any other collection method.
2. Skimming- Skimming is based on the principle that oil being lighter than water floats on its
surface and thus can be easily collected and removed. Skimming system involves boat with boom
that collects oil, a boat with large tank that hold oil and an actual sucker. Skimming depends on
thickness of the oil slicks, the am
3. Shovels and other road maintenance equipments are used to clean up oil on beaches.
4. Solidifying- Solidifiers are composed of dry hydrophobic polymers that adsorb oil. Solidifiers are
insoluble in water; change the physical state of spilled oil from liquid to a semi-solid or a rubber-like
material that floats on water making the removal of the solidified oil easy. The time required for
solidification of oil is controlled by the surface area or size of the polymer as well as the viscosity of the
oil.
Advantages of solidifying:
Non-toxic to aquatic and wild life.
Suppresses harmful vapors commonly associated with hydrocarbons such as Benzene, Xylene, Methyl
Ethyl, Acetone and Naphtha
5. Chemical dispersants - Chemical dispersantsare materials that break down the oil into simpler
chemical constituents and help to disperse the oil to make it less harmful to wildlife and shorelines.
6. In-situ burning- This involves the burning of freshly spilled oil while it's still floating on the water
under favorable conditions of low wind. However this causes air and water pollution and harmful to
aquatic life.
7. Biological entities like microorganisms (microbial bioremediation) or plants (phytoremidiation) or
biological agents are used to break down or remove oil.
Anaerobic Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), acid-producing bacteria and aerobic-general aerobic
bacteria (GAB) are naturally oil-consuming bacteria. These bacteria occur naturally and act to remove
oil from an ecosystem. In an oil spill their biomass will tend to replace other populations in the food
chain.
It is worth remembering that in nature there is no single strain ofbacteria having metabolic capacity to
degrade all the components found within crude oil. Biodegradation of crude oil involves a succession of
species within the consortia of microbes present.
4. SARDAR HUSSAIN ASST PROF BIOTECHNOLOGY GSC CTA 3
3 Biological recovery of oil spills and Role OF G.E.Microrganisms in biodegradation
of xenobiotics
To get better results, cleaning of oil spills is often deployed as an integrated operation of physical,
chemical and biological means. For eg.the slick is barricaded by physical structures and chemical
dispersants are applied within the barricade both above and below the surface of the oil slick to break
the oil into smaller droplets making it easier for bacteria to degrade it.
Costs and Prevention
Prevention of oil spills is given a major priority due to its negative environmental-socio-economic impact.
However, the high costs associated with oil spills and regulations governing offshore facilities and
operations have necessitated the development of improved technology for efficient spill prevention. The
costs of an oil spill can be viewed in both quantitative and qualitative terms of references.
Quantitative costs of an oil spill include the following,
loss of the oil,
payment for cleaning up the spill and remediating the environment,
repair of physical facilities,
penalties assessed by regulatory agencies,
Expenses in insurance and legal claims.
Qualitative costs of an oil spill include following,
the loss of pristine habitat,
biodiversity both known and unknown
Human health effects from exposure to water and soil pollution.
Estimation of the volume of a spill
Microbial bioremediation and GEMs
Microbial bioremediation is the process in which microorganisms like bacteria degrade or transform
hazardous organic compounds like benzene, toluene,polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs), polyaromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins, nitro-aromatics etc. into non-toxic substances.
Naturally occurring microorganisms are incapable of degrading all toxic chemicals, especially
xenobiotics. To overcome this, attempts have been made in recent years to create genetically
engineered microorganisms (GEMs) to enhance bioremediation beside degrading xenobiotics. In spite
of this the number of field trials for the use of genetically engineered microorganisms for bioremediation
still remains limited (Peiperet al 2000, Sayleret al. 2000).The history of genetic engineering is strongly
linked with the bioremediation of oil spills.
In 1971, the great scientist Prof. A M Chakraborty had found four different strains of the
commonPseudomonasbacteria that contained enzymes which can break down various hydrocarbons. He
also observed that the genes for oil-degrading enzymes were located on the extra-chromosomal
elements known as plasmids. By combining these plasmids into a strain of Pseudomonas, he created a
variant of Pseudomonas that was capable of breaking down the constituents of crude oil. The plasmids
ofPseudomonas putida degrading various chemical compounds are TOL (for toluene and xylene), RA500
5. SARDAR HUSSAIN ASST PROF BIOTECHNOLOGY GSC CTA 4
4 Biological recovery of oil spills and Role OF G.E.Microrganisms in biodegradation
of xenobiotics
(for3, 5-xylene) pAC 25 (for 3-cne chlorobenxoate) and pKF439 (for salicylate toluene). Plasmid
WWOof Pseudomonas putida is one member of a set of plasmids now termed as TOL plasmid. These new
superbug is claimed to have thepotential to degrade oil 10–100 times faster than other non-genetically
engineered independent strains.
However due to regulations and concerns of the public using the microbe for bioremediation, the strain
was never unused.
Diagrammatic representation of biodegradation involving microorganisms and GEM
(Obtained from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/biodegradation-life-of-science/biodegradation-
involved-microorganisms-and-genetically-engineered-microorganisms)
List of organisms degrading various petroleum hydrocarbons
Organism
Degrading Hydrocarbon(s)
Azoarcussp.strain EB1 Ethylbenzene
Azoarcussp.strain T Toluene, m-Xylene
Azoarcustolulyticus Toluene, m-Xylene
Pseudomonas sp.NAP3,EbN1,HdN1,M3,T3, ToN1 Vibrio sp.
Strain NP4
Napthalene
ThaueraaromaticaK172,ThaueraaromaticaT1,
GeobactergrbiciaeTACP5,Desulfobacterium cetonicum
Toluene
Desulfobacterium cetonicum strain AK-O1 C13-C18 alkanes
Desulfobacterium cetonicum strain NaphS2 Napthalene
Desulfobacterium cetonicum strain TD3 C6-C16 alkanes
Compiled from Bernard Ollivier, Mitchel Magot, Petroleum Microbiology, Amer Society for
Microbiology, 2005
6. SARDAR HUSSAIN ASST PROF BIOTECHNOLOGY GSC CTA 5
5 Biological recovery of oil spills and Role OF G.E.Microrganisms in biodegradation
of xenobiotics
Approaches to GEM development for bioremediation application (Menn et al 2008)
1) Modification of enzyme specificity and affinity;
2) Pathway construction and regulation;
3) Bioprocess development, monitoring and control;
4) Bioaffinity/ bioreporter sensor applications for chemical sensing, toxicity reduction and end point
analysis.
Genes responsible for degradation of environmental pollutants, for example, toluene,
chlorobenzeneacids, xylene and other toxic wastes have been identified. Forevery compound, one
separate plasmid is required. One single plasmid cannot able to degradeall the toxic compounds of
different groups.
The plasmids are grouped into four categories:
1) OCT plasmid which degrades, octane, hexane and decane;
2) XYL plasmid which degradesxylene and toluenes,
3) CAM plasmid that decompose camphor and
4) NAH plasmid whichdegrades naphthalene (Ramos JL et al ).
The potential for creating microbial strains through genetic manipulation, which has ability to degrade
avariety of hydrocarbons, has been demonstrated by Markandey DKet al. Theysuccessfully developed a
multiplasmid-containing Pseudomonas strain capable of oxidizingaliphatic, aromatic, terpenic and
polyaromatic hydrocarbons. GEM like Pseudomonas putida that contained the XYL and NAH plasmid as
well as a hybrid plasmidderived by recombination of CAM and OCT developed by conjugation could
degradecamphor, octane, salicylate, and naphthalene and could grow rapidly on crude oil because its
capabilitiesof metabolizing hydrocarbons more efficiently than any other singleplasmid.