Biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons by microorganisms immobilized on polyurethane foam

Abstract

Four different microorganisms; Rhodococcus sp. (F92 and P12), Candida sp. (F43) and Arthrobacter sp. (AR) were used in this study to assess for their ability to be immobilised on polyurethane foam (PUF) and to degrade different petroleum products.PUF of the density 14 kg/m3 (D14) was found to adsorb the most Arabian Light Crude (ALC) (approximately 16 g ALC/g PUF) and among the four microorganisms, F92 was best immobilized on D14 PUF, with 1A'1011 CFU/g PUF of immobilized cells with an immobilization efficiency of 80%. Immobilized and free F92 degraded 70%-90% of C17, C18 and total n-alkanes in ALC, Al-Shaheen Crude (ASC), diesel and oil slops in one week.This study reports for the first time the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons by an immobilized Rhodococcus sp.