(752a) Bioremediation of Oil Spill From Oil Exploration Site Using Microbial Consortia

A field study was carried out in Ahmedabad area (four different sites), India, to bio-remediate land contaminated with an oily sludge, using a carrier based hydrocarbon- degrading bacterial consortium and nutrient mixture. A feasibility study carried out at the site showed that the introduced bacterial consortium effectively adapted to the local environment of the soil at bioremediation site. The soil samples were collected from the contaminated sites (plot A, B, C, D and E) after treatment with bacterial consortium at different time intervals, and total petroleum hydrocarbon was calculated gravimetrically after soxhlet extraction. At time zero (just before initiation of bioremediation), the concentration of oil (TPH) in the soil (25-cm horizon) of plot A, B, C and D was 39.90., 18.90, 25.80 and 29.90 % respectively, after 360 days it was reduced to 0.97% , 1.1% , 1.0%, and 1.1 % respectively with microbial consortia, where as in control plot it was reduced from 40%-35% where microbial consortia was not applied. There was only 5% degradation (40 to 35%) after 365 days in the control plot (E) where microbial consortium was not applied.