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Published on: December 12, 2013
Biostimulation of micro-organisms from sugarcane bagasse pith for the removal of weathered hydrocarbon from soil
B Pèrez-Armendáriz1, O Loera-Corral, L Fernández-Linares
1Depto. de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Col., San Pedro Zacatenco, Del. Gustavo A. Madero, México D.F.
Aims:
In this study we studied the biostimulation of micro-organisms associated with sugarcane bagasse pith for the removal of total petroleum hydrocarbon from a soil contaminated with weathered hydrocarbon.
Methods And Results:
Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus were added at a ratio of 100 : 10 : 1, water content of 40%, and soil : bagasse ratio of 49 : 1. A significant positive difference (P < 0.05) was observed in total petroleum hydrocarbon removal (38 and 48%) by micro-organisms associated with bagasse and native soil micro-organisms, respectively. In addition, total petroleum hydrocarbon removal increased to 60% in a system where both autochthonous soil and bagasse micro-organisms were present.
Conclusions:
Micro-organisms from sugarcane bagasse pith can be stimulated for removal of weathered hydrocarbon from contaminated tropical soils, without they being inhibited by indigenous soil micro-organisms.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
Soil of with hydrocarbons can be diminished by stimulation of autochthonous microflora present in soil and agricultural residues. This work contributes to the microbiology of composting, as low amounts of bulking agents for hydrocarbon removal from soil, can be used.
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