Evaluation of crude oil biodegradation using mixed fungal cultures

The use of potent fungal mixed cultures is a promising technique for the biodegradation of crude oil. Four isolates of fungi, namely, Alternaria alternata (AA-1), Aspergillus flavus (AF-3), Aspergillus terreus (AT-7), and Trichoderma harzianum (TH-5), were isolated from date palm soil in Saudi Arabia. The mixed fungal of the four isolates have a powerful tool for biodegradation up to 73.6% of crude oil (1%, w/v) in 14 days. The fungal consortium no. 15 containing the four isolates (1:1:1:1) performed significantly better as a biodegradation agent than other consortium in a variety of environmental factors containing crude oil concentration, incubation temperature, initial pH, biodegradation time and the salinity of the medium. The fungal consortium showed better performance in the biodegradation of normal alkanes (n-alkanes) than that of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); the biodegradation efficiency of normal alkanes of the fungal consortium (67.1%) was clearly high than that of the PAHs (56.8%).