Perm Polytechnic University scientists have identified bacteria that better "destroy" oil waste

Researchers from Perm Polytechnic University (PNRPU, part of the REC "Rational Subsoil Use") we found out which types of bacteria most effectively cope with oil pollution of soil and water.

Annually in Russia, the volume of soil pollution as a result of the activities of oil-producing and transport enterprises reaches 800 thousand hectares.

The loss of fossil fuels annually ranges from 1 to 8 million tons. This leads to a violation of the ecological balance and carries risks for wildlife. As a result of pollution, the agrochemical, physical and microbiological properties of the soil change.

The methods used to clean the soil from oil pollution do not always allow to completely eliminate waste.

"Therefore, it is most effective and environmentally safe to use biological methods at the final stage of processing – special bacteria that "feed" on fossil fuels," emphasizes Galina Kozlova, research supervisor of the development, Associate Professor of the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology at Perm Polytechnic University, Candidate of Chemical Sciences.

The most promising technologies are those that combine the introduction of bacteria into polluted soil and the "activation" of its microflora for the oxidation of oil. With the help of such biological products, it is possible to restore soils and water areas and neutralize wastewater from enterprises. They are more often created on the basis of several strains of bacteria, since oil is complex, multicomponent in composition.

– We used six museum strains of bacteria isolated from contaminated soil. Further, we investigated how the "community" behaves in a nutrient medium with petroleum products. Then we selected the two most active strains and cultured them in different environments. Hexadecane, petroleum ether and kerosene became "food" for bacteria. As a result, we found out that the growth of a mixed culture of microorganisms was observed on all the substrates under consideration, – says one of the developers, a 4th-year student of the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology of Perm Polytechnic Evgenia Kalinichenko.

The results of the work, which corresponds to the direction "Ecology and safety of territories" of the Perm REC, were presented by scientists in the collection of materials of the All-Russian scientific and practical conference with international participation "Chemistry. Ecology. Urban Studies" (2022). In the future, the researchers plan to study the influence of cultivation conditions on the growth of bacteria and create an effective biological product based on them. It can be used in the future for the purification of natural waters, soils and soil restoration.