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Biodegradation of Oil Tank Bottom Sludge using Microbial Consortia

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Abstract

We present a rationale for the selection of a microbial consortia specifically adapted to degrade toxic components of oil refinery tank bottom sludge (OTBS). Sources such as polluted soils, petrochemical waste, sludge from refinery-wastewater plants, and others were used to obtain a collection of eight microorganisms, which were individually tested and characterized to analyze their degradative capabilities on different hydrocarbon families. After initial experiments using mixtures of these strains, we developed a consortium consisting of four microorganisms (three bacteria and one yeast) selected in the basis of their cometabolic effects, emulsification properties, colonization of oil components, and degradative capabilities. Although the specific contribution each of the former parameters makes is not clearly understood, the activity of the four-member consortium had a strong impact not only on linear alkane degradation (100%), but also on the degradation of cycloalkanes (85%), branched alkanes (44%), and aromatic and sulphur–aromatic compounds (31–55%). The effectiveness of this consortium was significantly superior to that obtained by individual strains, commercial inocula or an undefined mixture of culturable and non-culturable microorganisms obtained from OTBS-polluted soil. However, results were similar when another consortium of four microorganisms, previously isolated in the same OTBS-polluted soil, was assayed.

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Abbreviations

OTBS:

oil tank bottom sludge

NSO:

nitrogen, sulphur, oxygen compounds in oil

CDS:

cyclodextrin–diesel agar synthetic medium

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Acknowledgements

This work received a grant from the Fundación Repsol-YPF (Spain). We wish to thank Dr. Carlos García-Fandiño at the Puertollano refinery (Repsol-YPF) for his technical support and Ms. Priscilla Chase for linguistic correction of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpto. Exp. Prospección de Minas e Instituto de Biotecnología de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, C/ Gonzalo Gutiérrez, S/N–33600, Mieres, Asturias, Spain

    José Luis R. Gallego

  2. Laboratorio de Estratigrafía Biomolecular, ETS Minas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/Ríos Rosas, 21–28003, Madrid, Spain

    María Jesús García-Martínez & Juan F. Llamas

  3. Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de los Alimentos (IATA), 46100, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain

    Carmen Belloch

  4. Área de Microbiología, Dpto. Biología Funcional e Instituto de Biotecnología de Asturias, Univ. de Oviedo, C/Julián Clavería, S/N–33006, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

    Ana I. Peláez & Jesús Sánchez

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  1. José Luis R. Gallego
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  2. María Jesús García-Martínez
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  3. Juan F. Llamas
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  4. Carmen Belloch
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  6. Jesús Sánchez
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Correspondence to José Luis R. Gallego.

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Gallego, J.L.R., García-Martínez, M.J., Llamas, J.F. et al. Biodegradation of Oil Tank Bottom Sludge using Microbial Consortia. Biodegradation 18, 269–281 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-006-9061-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-006-9061-y

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