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Use of Oleophilic Fertilizers
In early years, application of oleophilic (oil loving) fertilizers as food for oil utilizing microbes was considered useful, since this would allow rapid growth and multiplication of indigenous microbes, thus speeding up the biodegradation process for removal of oil. When, 6000 gallons of petrol was leaked from a company in Pennsylvania in USA, it posed a serious health problem due to contamination of underground water supplies. Addition of oleophilic fertilizers on the sites expedited the biodegradation of petrol, thus cleaning the toxic site in a year, which would have otherwise taken several years.

Use of a mixture of bacterial strains
A mixture of bacterial strains has also been used to clean oil contaminated water reservoirs (due to oil spills from ships) and water supplies. This could be illustrated using the following example. When 800,000 gallons of oil water was once accumulated in the bilges (bottom of ship) of a ship ‘Queen Mary’, there was danger that this oily water will be discharged at the harbour causing death to marine life and spoiling beaches, thus rendering them unsuitable for human use. When a mixture of bacterial strains was introduced in the bilges of the ship, oil was decomposed within six weeks, leaving water with innocuous chemicals, safe to be discharged at the harbour.

A mixture of bacterial strains is also being used for removal of gases deposited on the inner side of tanks in a ship. The technique may also prove useful for cleaning deposits of grease in pipes and vessels of a variety of industries.

 

  

 
 

 
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