Abstract
Dose of nutrient microcapsules enhanced microbial degradation of spilled oil on the sea surface have been investigated.
In the up-and-down shaking apparatus modeled on sea surface, four crude oil such as Arabian light, Berri, Murban and Khafji were degraded by a marine bacteria, Pseudomonas sp. On the cultivation for 21 days, their percentages of total oil removal were 1822% in the sea water, which by dose of the nutrient microcapsules they were enhanced to 4356%. The biodegraded crude oil were fractionated by chromatography on a column of activated alumina. In result, the saturated fraction was most degraded (7585%), following by the aromatics (5565%).
On the biodegradation of 5g of crude oil for 21 days, the oil removal was amounted roughly to maximum when 116 mg of the microcapusule per vessel was added 5 times every 4 days. The percentage of oil removal in the cultivation for 7 days (total dosage ; 116 mg) was more than 80% of the total. And when the dosage interval of the microcapsules was more than 7 days, it lowered.
