There are species of marine bacteria in several families, including Marinobacter, Oceanospiralles, Pseudomonas, and Alkanivorax, that can eat compounds from petroleum as part of their diet.
Bacteria can break down oil to carbon dioxide and water. However, no single organism can break down all the components of crude oil or refined fuels spilled into the environment.
Now known as Alcanivorax borkumensis, the bacteria was able to digest oil by breaking down petroleum hydrocarbons with the use of special enzymes — something no other known bacteria can do.
Enzymes such as lipase, alkane monooxygenase, esterase, and alcohol dehydrogenase are associated with crude oil degradation.
Naturally occurring hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria play an important role in breaking down oil in the event of a spill. Since the mid-1990s a number of these bacteria have been isolated, such as Alcanivorax and Marinobacter.
The fungus was even able to grow directly on diesel, crude oil and similar materials as its only nutrient source—the first time this ability has been seen in a member of this fast-growing group of fungi.
Pseudomonas putida, a soil-dwelling bacterium, serves the chain of life by recycling nutrients.
The liver releases bile, which contains lecithin, bile salts, and emulsifiers that help further break down fats. Bile grabs onto the fats, and the emulsifiers increase their surface area, making them easier for digestive enzymes to act on. Following this, enzymes break apart fatty acids.
Dispersants, also called dispersing agents, are chemical agents used to break up oil into smaller droplets in the water column. Dispersants can be applied on surface oil or below the surface, closer to an uncontrolled release of crude oil from a well blowout source.
A member of Clostridiaceae was found to specifically impact fat absorption. The abundance of other bacterial families decreased on a high-fat diet including Bifidobacteriacaea and Bacteriodacaea, which are commonly associated with leanness.
Isolation of the oil degrading bacteria. MS (Minimal salt) medium were supplemented with diesel and burned engine oil (10 μ l/ml), used for the isolation of the hydrocarbon degrading bacteria. After 4 days of incubation at 37 °C we found that bacteria grown on the medium.
Why do you think some bacteria might grow better with certain oils as a food source compared to other oils? Presence of different enzymes or metabolic pathways allows some bacteria to use one oil but not another.
Bacteria can live on almost anything – some even on oil.
All marine environments contain naturally occurring microbes that feed on and break down crude oil. This means crude oil is largely biodegradable. Spilled oil tends to float on the surface of water in slicks.
One strain each of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Clostridium sporogenes and Bacillus subtilis survived for longer than three years in three of the seven crude oils tested.
The results of this experiment indicated that 100% cotton absorbed the most amount of oil and human hair absorbed the sixth most amount of oil.
Sprinkle sawdust, clay kitty litter (not the clumping kind), coconut husks, or a commercial oil-absorbing product on the stain. If you have none of these products on hand, set paper towels on the floor to soak up any wet oil while you make a trip to the store.
Sorbents are materials used to absorb oil, and include peat moss, vermiculate, and clay. Synthetic varieties – usually plastic foams or fibers – come in sheets, rolls, or booms.
Vinegar is about five percent acetic acid, which helps it break down the structure of some dirt, oils, films, stains and bacteria.
Neutralization is the process of removing free fatty acids from crude oils by using caustic soda or lime [1]. After addition of alkaline solutions, soap is formed in the oil and removed by washing with hot water. Then, the oil is dried in order to remove the remaining water in the neutralized oil.
Phage therapy, the use of bacteria-killing viruses called bacteriophages against superbugs that no longer respond to antibiotics, is currently a last-resort, experimental therapy available only to those for whom traditional treatments aren't working.
Superbugs are caused by the misuse of antibiotics. When antibiotics are overused or misused, the bacteria that have caused the disease in question are overexposed and produce mutations in an attempt to survive.