The devastating environmental impacts of the exxon valdez spill in 1989 and its media notoriety made it a frequent comparison to the bp deepwater horizon spill in the popular press in 2010, even though the nature of the two spills and the environments impacted were vastly different. Pdf as the demand for liquid petroleum increases, the need for reliable and efficient oil spill cleanup techniques is inevitable. The model developed in the course of this work suits only a simple case where no temperature effects come to play and underground water is not affected by the oil spill. Welcome to the most trusted and comprehensive oil spill bioremediation products directory on the internet. Bioremediation has been applied for the cleanup of major marine oil spills of refined petroleum products. Bioremediation is an environmental science that amplifies natural biological actions to remedy or remediate. Oil spill bioremediation technologies epitomize modern environmental techniquesworking with natural processes to remove spilled oil from the environment while minimizing undesirable environmental impacts. Bioremediation of crude oil contaminated soil by petroleum. Moreover, the requirements for suc cessful seeding are more demanding than those for nutrient enrichment. Bioremediation of oil spills using microorganism science.
Fact sheet bioremediation in oil spill response this fact sheet is to provide on scene coordinators and other decisionmakers with the latest information on evolving technologies that may be applicable for use in responding to an oil spill. May, 2000 the purpose of this fact sheet is to provide on scene coordinators and other decisionmakers with. Furthermore, biosurfactants synthesized by microbes play a monumental role in the degradation of oil spill in the natural environment. Some of these methods, like in situ burning or the use of dispersal agents, do a lot of harm themselves. Bioremediation is any process that uses decomposers and green plants, or their enzymes, to improve the condition of contaminated environments. Natural weathering of petroleum and the applicability of. Specific bacteria can be used to bioremediate specific contaminants, such as hydrocarbons, which are present in oil and gasoline. The exxon valdez oil spill was the largest oil spill in u. Bioremediation is a cleanup technology that uses naturally occurring microorganisms to degrade hazardous substances in soil, water and air into less toxic or nontoxic compounds bioremediation is an economical and safe method for cleaning up oil spills and bioremediating soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and dangerous organic compounds. As the demand for liquid petroleum increases, the need for reliable and efficient oil spill cleanup techniques is inevitable. Bioremediation of marine oil spills has become a very practical approach to oil spill cleanup efforts in recent years. Vidali encyclopedia of life support systems eolss recent years has led to international efforts to remedy many of these sites, either as a response to the risk of adverse health or environmental effects caused by contamination or to enable the site to be redeveloped for use.
History of bioremediation 1972 first commercial application. Oil spills are harmful for marine life photo credit noaa and georgia department of natural resources, ccby 2. The oilremoval values in the oilsaturated and diluted desert soil samples are presented in table 1. Importance of biosurfactants as oil spill bioremediation. Bioremediation is considered one of the most sustainable cleanup techniques but the potential has not been fully exploited. Pdf oil spills are probable accidents occurring mostly during transportation and processing of oil that can contaminate marine, soil, sediments. Petroleum biodegradation and oil spill bioremediation. Ultimately, the cost of bioremediation is reduced when the above roles of model development and solution are carried out.
An oil spill is a form of pollution that involves the release of petroleum into the biosphere especially the waterways such as oceans, posing a huge threat to marine life. Bioremediation oil spills list of high impact articles. Bacteria can be used to clean up oil spills in the ocean through bioremediation. The physical and chemical characteristics of the oil are also important determinants of bioremediation success. Bioremediation of exxon valdez oil spill about epa us epa. Oil spill response methods booms and skimmers bioremediation by oil eating bacteria edvokit 956 1. Petroleum spill bioremediation in marine environments. Sun oil pipeline spill in ambler, pennsylvania 1970s continuing bioremediation projects by richard raymond of sun oil mid1980s emphasis on bioengineering organisms for bioremediation. From the exxon valdez oil spill cleanup by annie k. Fortunately, unlike higher organisms that are adversely impacted by oil spills, microorganisms are able to.
Meet the microbes eating the gulf oil spill slide show these microscopic life forms are blooming as a result of the oil spilled into the gulf of mexico from the macondo 252 deepsea well. Sample teachers manual download pdf explore sample pages from the teachers manual for this product. Effectiveness of bioremediation for the exxon valdez oil spill. Bioremediation in oil spill response 2004 open pdf 285 kb this pamphlet offers information on bioremediation during an oil spill. Bioremediation is one technique that may be useful to remove spilled oil under certain geographic and climatic. Oil spill bioremediation laboratory 2 oil spill bioremediation laboratory introduction it is important to know the different ways that oil reacts when it is spilled and blended with water, especially ocean water. Oil migrates down through soils, adsorbing to soil particles until it reaches groundwater, where oil constituents will dissolve in water, float on water surface lightend fraction or sink to bottom of water aquifer heavy heating fuel oil any constituent that dissolves in water will travel with flowing groundwater. The objective of this work was to study the bioremediation in situ of a diesel oil spill by utilizing a biosurfactant produced through fermentation and then compare it with chemical remediation. Natural weathering of petroleum and the applicability of bioremediation for oil spill cleanup.
As the demand for liquid petroleum increases, the need for reliable and efficient oil spill cleanup techniques is keywords. Epa informed exxon on july 26 that it would support a proposal by the company to use bioremediation to aid in cleaning up the oil spilled from the exxon valdez in prince william sound. Meet the microbes eating the gulf oil spill slide show. Pdf bioremediation of marine oil spills researchgate. The study of bioremediation is not complete without a discussion of its practical applications. This oil rig, located just 42 miles off the coast of louisiana, exploded during a routine drilling operation on the ocean. This article discusses some of the studies investigating the underlying causes of this rapid biodegradation.
While an oil slick is floating, this can be done by spraying dispersants to encourage the oil to disperse. Bioremediation is promising technology for treatment of wide range of contaminants in soil and groundwater, particularly oil contamination bioremediation is sitespecific. In the simplest terms, bioremediation is a waste management process using live organisms to neutralize or remove harmful pollutants from contaminated areas. Oil spills oil spills occur frequently throughout the world. The two areas provide presentday and post spill scenarios that show how foraminifera may be used to detect the duration needed for bioremediation within a marsh environment. Team rrt, using epas interim guidelines for preparing bioremediation spill response plans. Bioremediation for marine oil spills princeton university. Field evaluations of marine oil spill bioremediation.
Bioremediation of oil spills submitted by anchal garg environment science 2016 2. Bioremediation of marine oil spills iowa state university. The oil spill impacts the marine ecosystem and affects the deepwater horizon. Bioremediation technology is invaluable for reclaiming polluted soil and water. Oil spills require quick action so that they cause as little damage as possible. After the spill miliammina fusca is the dominant species with deformation peaks present in the oil layer and for several years after. Persons seeking to use insitu bioremediation as a remedial countermeasure should check with applicable state or local regulatory requirements.
This oil spill bioremediation lab was for students to. Oil spills have become serious problem in cold environments with ever icrese in resource exploitation,transportation,storage and accidental lekage of oils bioremidation is a promising action for remidation it is effective and economic in removing oils with less undue environmental damages. The sun oil pipeline spill in ambler, pennsylvania spurred the first commercial usage of in situ bioremediation in 1972 to remove hydrocarbons from contaminated sites. A recently published article in environmental microbiology reveals that indigenous microbiota of. Patchiness of oil distribution has made analytical confirmation of the efficacy of bioremediation difficult, even when white rocks were observed following fertilizer application to shorelines impacted by the exxon valdez spill, and the removal of oil could be visibly observed.
Bioremediation of crude oil contaminated soil by petroleumdegrading active bacteria jinlan xu school of environmental and municipal engineering, xi an university of architecture and technology, xi an, shaanxi, china 1. Heavy crude oils that contain large amounts of resin and asphaltene compounds are less amenable to bioremediation than are lightor mediumweight crude oils that are rich in aliphatic components. For example, the deepwater horizon oil spill devastated the gulf of mexico in april 2010. Bioremediation is a new process and is often questioned as reliable due to uncontrollable variables in an oil spill, such as the composition of the oil, the indigenous microorganisms present at the site, the water characteristics such as temperature and energy, and also the available nutrients at the affected site. In the case of the exxon valdez spill, the largest and most thoroughly studied application of bioremediation, the application of fertilizer slow release or oleophilic increased rates of biodegradation 35 times. Because of the patchiness of oil, an internally conserved compound, hopane, was critical for demonstrating the efficacy of. Purposepurpose this document has a threefold purpose. Oil spills are a common occurrence in our oceans, when they shouldnt be. Over 200 million gallons of oil spilled into the ocean over the course of 87 days. The effectiveness of bioremediation for oil spills has been difficult to establish on dynamic, heterogeneous marine shorelines. Crude oil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pahs, hydrogen sulfide h2s volatile. Oil spill bioremediation 2 oil spill bioremediation introduction the oil spill is a serious matter because millions of gallons of oil enter the ocean yearly.
A patent was filed in 1974 by richard raymond, reclamation of hydrocarbon contaminated ground waters, which provided the basis for the commercialization of in situ bioremediation. Biodegradation of oil and bioremediation of oil spills sciencedirect. Oil spills threaten the health of both human lifestyle and environmental ecosystems. Oil spills cause irreparable damage to our environment and cause a great loss of marine life. In situ bioremediation of crude petroleum oil polluted. Bioremediation in oil spill response an information update on the use of bioremediation.
In the deepwater horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico, the oil disappeared more rapidly than predicted. Bioremediation is defined as the act of adding or improving the availability of materials e. A broad range of oil spill bioremediation products resources are compiled in this industrial portal which provides information on manufacturers, distributors and service companies in the oil spill bioremediation products industry. Bioremediation treatment and monitoring were observed at an oiled marsh in upper galveston bay, texas, august 5 to 8, 1990, during response to the oil spill created by the collision of. Oil migrates down through soils, adsorbing to soil particles until it reaches groundwater, where oil constituents. Article types of bioremediation and their modes of action. Web alert bioremediation of oil spills an annotated selection of world wide web sites relevant to the topics in microbial biotechnology microbes cleaning up deepwater.
These organisms remove oil seepage and spilled oil from the marine and terrestrial environment. To outline a process by which federal onscene coordinators oscs in region 4 may request authorization to use. Oil spill response with bioremediation agent type ea bearing out as a workable first response alternative to the use of chemical dispersants, contrasting e. In a letter to exxon, epa provided information that would support the use of bioremediation as a cleanup technique for the valdez oil spill. Therefore it has been a subject of oil spill bioremediation agents research. Currently, there are limited methods for cleaning up oil spill which have reached the shoreline or which have spread over a large area. Bioremediation of soils saturated with spilled crude oil.