Microbial Degradation of Hydrocarbon Mixtures in a Marine Sediment Under Different Temperature Regimes

📖 The Scoop

Describes a laboratory study of the rate of biodegradation of various petroleum hydrocarbons under simulated conditions of a marine sediment at temperatures of 15, 10, and 5 degrees C. The goal of the study was to predict from the results the rates of degradation that may be expected at temperatures below 5 degrees C. Three hydrocarbon mixtures were used in the experiments: a crude oil, a bunker C oil, and a condensate. Concentrations of these hydrocarbons in the 1-3% range were mixed with sand and the samples were incorporated into sediment in which a flow of sea water was maintained, comparable to that of interstitial water in a sub-littoral sediment influenced by moderate waves. Results presented include total counts of aerobic bacteria, changes in the hydrocarbon mixtures as determined using solvent extraction and gas chromatography, and daily degradation rates. Estimates are made for theoretical daily degradation rates at zero and -5 degrees C.

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