Bioremediation of soil contaminated with organic compounds with special reference to acrylonitrile

Enrichment of acrylonitrile (AN) degrading bacterial culture from contaminated soil resulted in the isolation of two cultures which were identified as gram negative small rods (C1) and gram positive cocci (C2). One of the cultures (C1) was identified as Citrobacter fruendii on the basis of biochemical and physiological tests. Both the cultures (C1 and C2) were able to utilize acrylonitrile up to a concentration of 2000 mg/l as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. The studies also confirmed that the acrylonitrile contaminated soil when ploughed with well mixed AN degrading culture, diammonium phosphate and farmyard manure, could be completely remediated within two months from the date of soil amendment.