Researchers from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh have found a natural way to clean oil spills on the seas due to accidents or oil well blow-outs that threaten marine life.
They have identified five strains of bacteria and three strains of fungi that eat away hydrocarbons like petrol, diesel and oil, without leaving any residue.
Whereas present methods to clean up oil spills involve use of chemicals, which damage the local ecology, “the bacterial and fungal strains we have found do their job naturally without harming the environment,” said Dr Ch. Pavana Jyothi, assistant professor of microbiology, Gitam University, Visakhapatnam.
The team, led by Dr Jyothi, collected four oil contaminated soil samples from different locations in Visakhapatnam, mainly iron ore dump yards and HPCL. From a gamut of bacteria and fungus strains found, Pseudomonas and Aspergillus were studied for oil spill cleaning capabilities.
“We have selected Pseudomonas aeruginosa and one Aspergillus species for hydrocarbon degradation. The degradation efficiency for petrol was 57 per cent, diesel 28 per cent and engine oil 10 per cent, in case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 37ºC for seven days. In case of the Aspergillus species, the degradation efficiency for petrol was 56.6 per cent, diesel 28 per cent and engine oil 10 per cent,” Dr Jyothi said.
With conjunctive use of organism for six days, degradation efficiency increased to 81 per cent for petrol and 41 per cent for diesel at 37ºC.
As the cleaning efficiency of these organisms rises with temperature increase, these organisms could be used to clean up oil spills on the high seas and in ship breaking units in tropical places like India and countries in the Indian Ocean, Dr Jyothi added.
