Technology Details

Bioremediation of Oil in Marine Environment
Hydrocarbon pollution in marine environment is known to affect man, material and marine  eco-system.  These hydrocarbons  are  known to  cause  permanent inheritable changes in exposed individuals leading to increased incidents of cancer, allergies, asthma and also make people vulnerable to contract other bacterial and viral diseases. NMRL has developed  an eco-friendly approach  for such oil spill management.

The bioremediation of pollutant oil using NMRL developed technology is brought about  by spraying bioemulsifier, oil degrading  marine  bacteria  and  nutrient mixture at polluted site in 3 days intervals for complete removal of oil. The oil hydrocarbons are degraded  by bacterial alkane monoxygenases and associated enzymes releasing CO2 and water and no toxic substance. The other biomolecules generated   get  incorporated   as  biomass  and  'Bioemulsifier' as  a  byproduct. Bioemulsifier is a surface active biomaterial which facilitates emulsification of oil- in-water, enhancing bioavailability of oil for biodegradation in ecofriendly manner.

The bioemulsifier developed  is a heat  stable compound (initial decomposition temperature 192ºC) having a molecular weight of ~5000 as determined  in a gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The GC-MS spectrum indicated presence of 16 fatty acids which are contributing to its surface active properties.The finished material has greatly reduced the surface tension of distilled water from 72 mN/m to 30 mN/m