Isolation of Indigenous Hydrocarbon Transforming Bacteria from Oil Contaminated Soils in Libya: Selection for Use as Potential Inocula for Soil Bioremediation

Althalb Hakima^1, and Singleton Ian²

¹Industrial and Production Chemistry Department, Libyan Petroleum Institute, Tripoli, Libya

²School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Cite this paper:
Althalb Hakima and Singleton Ian. Isolation of Indigenous Hydrocarbon Transforming Bacteria from Oil Contaminated Soils in Libya: Selection for Use as Potential Inocula for Soil Bioremediation. International Journal of Environmental Bioremediation & Biodegradation. 2017; 5(1):8-17. doi: 10.12691/ijebb-5-1-2

Abstract

The Libyan oil industry has left a significant legacy of contamination and methods are required to remediate oil-contaminated soils in the area. In this work hydrocarbon utilizing microorganisms were isolated and identified from contaminated soil samples obtained from an oil Refinery (Zawia, Libya). After initial screening of eleven isolates capable of growth on hexadecane, the five most promising hydrocarbon–utilizing bacteria were isolated and tested for biosurfactant production and emulsification activity. They were identified (using 16S rRNA sequence analysis) as Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas species, Betaproteobacterium, Actinomyces species, and Bacillus species. Among the five species tested, Pseudomonas putida showed superior performance in terms of growth on hydrocarbons (1.0×10¹⁰ CFU (ml)), E24 emulsifying activity (86%) and ability to transform hydrocarbons in pure culture. Interestingly, gas chromatographic analysis of crude oil treated with P. putida showed a decrease in heavy hydrocarbon fractions demonstrating a clear potential for this microbe to be used as a soil inoculant in bioremediation.

Keywords:
Biosurfactant Emulsifying Activity hydrocarbon–utilizing bacteria Pseudomonas putida Betaproteo bacterium Actinomyces species Bacillus species

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