COMPOST BIOREMEDIATION FOR PETROLEUM BASED CONTAMINATED SOIL

摘要

Contaminants that are not very soluble in water and those that require a source of carbon/or energy for their transformation can be biodegraded in the presence of oxygen. As in petroleum it can be degraded by bacteria with the ability to produce enzyme that select petroleum as a substrate.rnBioremediation process provide an oxygen rich environment wherein biological organic matters may consume the petroleum by-products. The soil to be remediated must have oxygen present together with a wide variation of biological organism to consume the contaminant.rnComposting have an enormous potential for bioremediation as this is capable of sustaining diverse population of microorganisms such as bacteria that are inhabitants in soil and lignin degrading fungi.rnCompost is a result of natural breakdown of organic materials derived from living plants. It is an aerobic process that depends on the microorganism to degrade organic material resulting in a stable nutrient rich components.rnWith the potential to degrade a variety of aromatic pollutants, compost is capable of changing pH, moisture content, soil structure and act as a nutrient source thereby improving the contaminated soil environment for microbial degradation activity.