Potential for bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated water by alkane-oxidizing actinobacteria

Abstract

Water pollution with oil and its components is common in oil-producing and industrialized countries of the world. High molecular weight alkanes, constituting significant portion of oil, exist in a solid state at room temperature and exhibit resistance to decomposition when released into the environment. Bioremediation is the most promising technology for cleaning up hydrocarbon-contaminated aquatic ecosystems because of its environmental safety and economic efficiency. This article presents data on the potential for bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated objects by the alkane-oxidizing bacterium Tsukamurella tyrosinosolvens PS2. Strain PS2 was isolated from petrochemical waste and showed a significant increase to 10⁷ CFU/ml when cultivated on a mineral medium with solid paraffin as the sole source of carbon and energy. It was found that strain PS2 has high adhesion to liquid and solid alkanes, compared to cells grown in a medium with sucrose. The degree of decomposition of solid paraffin was evaluated using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The results indicated that strain PS2 metabolizes alkanes with a chain length of C20-C31 in 7 days with varying efficiencies. The findings of this study demonstrate the potential of the T. tyrosinosolvens PS2 strain for the bioremediation of sites contaminated with complex mixtures of hydrocarbons.