Abstract

NAPOLES ALVAREZ, Janet et al. Diesel degradation in seawater using a bacterial consortium. RTQ [online]. 2019, vol.39, n.2, pp. 403-420. ISSN 2224-6185.

The inevitable dependence on petrochemicals products has resulted in a serious environmental problem in recent decades and has greatly affected aquatic ecosystems. The objectives of this research were to characterize the seawater of the Mar Verde beach and carry out commercial diesel degradation experiments in this water, using a bacterial consortium. Dissolved oxygen, nitrate and phosphate contents, pH and salinity were determined, as well as the heterotrophic and diesel degrading microbial population. The degradation kinetics of the commercial diesel was performed, using a consortium composed of 4 bacterial strains and two culture media: sterile seawater and unsterilized seawater. The characterization results showed that the parameters studied were similar to the norms according to NC 22: 1999 and NC 25: 1999. The heterotrophic population was 87 CFU mL-1 with diversity of morphology, which did not interfere in the degradation experiments. The bacterial consortium was able to degrade 53 % and 62 % of the diesel in the sterile and non-sterile medium at 30 days, respectively. It was demonstrated that this consortium could be used in diesel contaminated seawater bioremediation processes.

Keywords : biodegradation; diesel; bacterial consortium; seawater.

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