Services on Demand
Journal
Article
Indicators
Cited by SciELO
Access statistics
Related links
Similars in SciELO
Share
Bioagro
Print version ISSN 1316-3361
Abstract
GARCIA, María Gabriela; INFANTE, Carmen and LOPEZ, Liliana. Biodegradation of a medium crude oil in soils of different texture with and without bulking agents. Bioagro [online]. 2012, vol.24, n.2, pp.93-102. ISSN 1316-3361.
Soil texture and bulking agents play an important role in the bioremediation of hydrocarbons. In this sense, we study the biodegradation of a medium crude oil in two soils of different texture, with and without the addition of bulking agents (litter). The soils tested were a sandy-textured soil composed of quartz and illite, and a sandy-clay-loam composed of quartz and kaolinite. Four treatments were evaluated in triplicate in microcosms with initial oil content of 5 % (m/m) to which N and P fertilizers were added to obtain C/N = 60 and C/P = 800 ratios. The microcosms were raked periodically for aeration and humidity was adjusted to 40 - 60% of moisture pot capacity. Total petroleum hydrocarbons concentration was obtained for 1, 15, 30, 45 and 90 days through Sohxlet extraction and the concentration of saturated, aromatic, resins and asphaltenes fractions was obtained through precipitation for asphaltenes and by adsorption chromatography for maltenes (saturated, aromatic and resins). Saturated biomarkers analyses were performed by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. We found that the sandy-clay-loam texture favored the process of biodegradation of total hydrocarbons, particularly of the saturated components. The bulking agents also positively influenced the rate of biodegradation of saturated hydrocarbons, so these factors should be considered in the application of bioremediation techniques to restore soils and treating wastes polluted with medium crude oil.
Keywords : Bioremediation; hydrocarbon; litter.