EFFECT OF KAOLINITE ON MICROBIAL GROWTH IN HIGH CONCENTRATION OF HEAVY OIL

概要

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The effect of kaolinite on the growth of hydrocarbon-utilizing indigenous microorganisms in high concentration of heavy oil (i,e., approximately 150 g/l) was studied. Microorganisms were able to grow well in such an extremely high concentration in the presence of yeast extract as co-substrate in direct contact with kaolinite. The presence of kaolinite was not toxic but stimulant for the microbial growth assocrated with the formation of biofilms at pH values of 5〜6 after 36 days of incubation. Bacterial growth predominated when the pH of solutions was neutral-alkaline condition, while fungal growth was predominant as the pH of solutions decreased to be as low as 5 or lower. TEM observation of the kaolinite-oil-microorganism complexes showed that the microbial cells tended to be primarily bound on the edges of kaolinite, and XRD analysis confirmed that their complexes were the adsorption of the cells and heavy oil to the external surfaces of kaolinite. The results may contribute to what environmental factors having a great influence on the bioremediation process is therefore fundamental to many areas contaminated with oil spills, primarily marine and coastal environments. To our knowledge, there are no previous reports on the use of the clay minerals (i.e., kaolinite) in the bioremediation of the Nakhodka oil spill in combination with biofilm formation.
日本粘土学会の論文