Petroleum Hydrocarbons Refinery Waste and Stranded Oil

PART 1 PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS REFINERY WASTE AND STRANDED OIL 

There are several different situations in which petroleum hydrocarbons pose a threat that has attracted solution by bioremediation. These include (1) oil-refinery waste and contamination of the surrounding soil, (2) leakage from oil pipelines and underground storage tanks or basins, and (3) spillage of crude oil in the marine enviromnent after accidents at sea. 

Reviews on the microbial metabolism of hydrocarbons with biochemical aspects are available, and inclnde those of Britton (1984) on alkanes, and of Morgan and Watkinson (1994) that also includes cycloalkanes and some aromatic compounds. Virtually all the issues that are discussed in these recur in the examples that are used as illustration. Some broad generalizations are summarized  

Aerobic degradation of hydrocarbons requires access to electron acceptors, generally oxygen in natnral sitnations, added hydrogen peroxide in terrestrial systems, or nitrate or snlfate nnder anaerobic conditions that prevail at deeper levels of the soil or sediment. 

The biodegradation of n-alkanes and the pathways whereby it is accomplished are well established. The range of componnds includes branched-chain compounds such as pristane 

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