Bioremediation Potential of Terrestrial Fuel Spills

Abstract

A bioremediation treatment that consisted of liming, fertilization, and tilling was evaluated on the laboratory scale for its effectiveness in cleaning up a sand, a loam, and a clay loam contaminated at 50 to 135 mg g of soil −1 by gasoline, jet fuel, heating oil, diesel oil, or bunker C. Experimental variables included incubation temperatures of 17, 27, and 37°C; no treatment; bioremediation treatment; and poisoned evaporation controls. Hydrocarbon residues were determined by quantitative gas chromatography or, in the case of bunker C, by residual weight determination. Four-point depletion curves were obtained for the described experimental variables. In all cases, the disappearance of hydrocarbons was maximal at 27°C and in response to bioremediation treatment. Poisoned evaporation controls underestimated the true biodegradation contribution, but nevertheless, they showed that biodegradation makes only a modest contribution to gasoline disappearance from soil. Bunker C was found to be structurally recalcitrant, with close to 80% persisting after 1 year of incubation. The three medium distillates, jet fuel, heating oil, and diesel oil, increased in persistence in the listed order but responded well to bioremediation treatment under all test conditions. With bioremediation treatment, it should be possible to reduce hydrocarbons to insignificant levels in contaminated soils within one growing season.