Iranian Journal of

Backgrounds and Objectives: Oil pollution can be generated as a result of spillage, leakage, discharge, exploration, production, refining, transport and storage of crude oil and fuels in the environment. Consequently, many researchers have developed and studied the chemical, physical and biological methods to degrade crude oil. Among them, the biological treatments are the most interesting as they are simple and economical methods. The aim of this study was to determine biokinetic coefficients of crude oil degradation by pseudomonas aerogenusa. This microorganism was isolated in our previous work.
Materials and Methods: In this study the bio-kinetic coefficients of crude oil biodegradation were evaluated. Pseudomonas aerogenusa bacteria which had been isolated from the soil sample taken from a gas station in our previous work were used in this study. This microorganism was cultured in the liquid medium containing crude oil as sole carbon source. Finally with determining the amount of microorganisms and crude oil concentration during biodegradation process, the bio-kinetic coefficients based on modified Monod equation were calculated.
Results: bio-kinetic coefficients obtained from laboratory studies are vital factors in industrial applications. As a result, the bio-kinetic study was performed to find bio-kinetic coefficients for biodegradation of crude oil using the isolated bacteria. The results showed that ,Y, k and were equal 0.107 , 0.882 , 9.39 and 169.3 respectively.
Coculusion:Our results showed that pseudomonas aerogenusa is usable for treatment of oily wastewaters in the full scale facility. Results of this study indicated bio kinetics confections.

Background and Objective: Petroleum hydrocarbons are a bunch of pollutants hazardous to the environment. Nowadays, biodegradation of petroleum contaminants is considered as one of the most efficient and most cost effective methods of removing oil contamination from the environment. The main objective of this study is to investigate the potential of cyanobacterium Schizothrix vaginata ISC108 in the biodegradation of crude oil and to evaluate oil effects on growth rates, dry weight, and chlorophyll content. Material and Methods: In this experimental study, the cyanobacterium Schizothrix vaginata ISC108 was obtained from the algal culture collection of Research Institute of Applied Science, ACECR, Tehran, Iran. First, purification of the cyanobacterium was performed using agar plate method on solid medium of BG11. Growth rate, chlorophyll content and dry weight of cyanobacteriaum was measured using spectrophotometry method. The biodegradation rate of crude oil was calculated using gas chromatography (GC) analysis. Results: Measuring the growth rate of cyanobacterium Schizothrix vaginata at 1% treatment of crude oil and control samples showed that the growth of cyanobacterium in the presence of crude oil as the sole carbon source increases at the same rate as the control sample. Moreover, it was found that increasing the concentration of crude oil will result in increasing dry weight of Schizothrix vaginata however, and the chlorophyll content reduced in various crude oil treatments. The average biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbon after 14 and 28 days of treatment was 54.78 and 93.98% respectively. Conclusions: It was found that cyanobacterium Schizothrix vaginata ISC108 has great potential in biodegradation of crude oil. Therefore, since oil is a product toxic to biological systems and is one of the main pollutants of bioecosystem, it has a great potential to be used as an indicator to eliminate pollution in contaminated areas.

Background & Objectives: Remaining crude oil in storage tanks lead to accumulation of oily sludge at the bottom of the tank, which should be treated and disposed of in a suitable manner. The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficiency of chemical oxidation using H₂O₂ and Fenton’s reagent in removal of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) from bottom sludge of crude oil storage tanks. Materials & methods: In this experimental study, hydrogen peroxide and Fenton’s reagent were added to the sludge in six concentrations including 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30% (w w^-1) and TPH was measured for a period of 24 and 48 h of reaction time. The oxidants were added in a single and stepwise addition way, both to the pristine and saturated sludge. The elemental analysis of sludge and TPH measurement were carried out using ICP and TNRCC methods respectively. Results: The mean TPH removal of 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30% oxidant concentrations were 1.55, 9.03, 23.85, 33.97, 41.23, and 53.03%, respectively. The highest removal efficiency was achieved in stepwise addition to the saturated sludge. Increasing oxidation time from 24 to 48 h had a little effect on increase in TPH removal. Moreover, the removal efficiency of H₂O₂ and Fenton was nearly similar. Conclusions: Mere application of chemical oxidation is not capable of complete treatment of the sludge but it is an effective process as a pre-treatment step for decreasing toxicity and increasing its biodegradability.