A methodology allowing the determination of the intrinsic capacities of microflora to degrade gasoline in aerobic conditions has been developed. It consists in the determination of the degradation of a gasoline-model mixture in a test carried out in liquid culture under non limiting conditions. The mixture (GM23) was composed of the 23 most abundant components detected in gasoline. In the conditions selected, the methodology yielded reproducible results that were quite similar to those obtained with a gasoline cut containing 83 quantifiable hydrocarbons. It was applied to the characterization of the intrinsic capacities of biodegradation of a polluted and a non polluted soil. Significant differences were observed. The non polluted soil had a good capacity to degrade GM23 but isoalkanes and cyclohexane were not completely degraded. No such limitation was observed with the microflora of a soil polluted with diesel oil.
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