marine oil spill impacts on microorganism and cleanup

7/28/2019 Marine Oil Spill Impacts on Microorganism and Cleanup

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Marine Oil Spill Impacts onMicroorganisms and

Cleanup Options

Muhammad Suleman Bacha


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Oil spill

An oil spill is the release of a liquidpetroleumhydrocarbon into the environment due to humanactivity, and is a form ofpollution. The term oftenrefers to Marine oil spills, where oil is released into the

ocean orcoastal waters. The oil may be a variety ofmaterials, including crude oil, refined petroleumproducts (such as gasoline ordiesel fuel) or by-products, ships' bunkers, oily refuse or oil mixed inwaste. Spills take months or even years to clean up.

Marine oil spills are very catastrophic events whichpose a great threat on the affected environment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocarbonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_%28ocean%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_watershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crude_oilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasolinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wastehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wastehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasolinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crude_oilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_watershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_%28ocean%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocarbonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid


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Although it is often believed that oil spills

affecting marine environments are primarily

the result of large oil tanker spills, most of the

oil contamination that occurs is due to surfacerunoff, the transportation of oil, port activity,

and illegal bilge water discharges. Oil is

comprised of many different toxic compounds

which endanger the natural habitat involvedin the spill.


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Largest oil spills

Some of the marine oil spills occurred in

history are given in the following table


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Impacts of Oil spill on the marine

biota:

The oil penetrates and opens up the structure of the

plumage of birds, reducing its insulating ability, and so

making the birds more vulnerable to temperature

fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. It alsoimpairs birds' flight abilities, making it difficult or

impossible to forage and escape from predators. As they

attempt to preen, birds typically ingest oil that coats their

feathers, causing kidney damage, altered liverfunction,

and digestive tract irritation. This and the limited foraging

ability quickly cause dehydration and metabolic

imbalances. Most birds affected by an oil spill die unless

there is human intervention.5/30/2013 6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoyancyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preeninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digestive_tracthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydrationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydrationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digestive_tracthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preeninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buoyancyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumage


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Marine mammals exposed to oil spills are

affected in similar ways as seabirds. Oil coats

the fur ofSea otters and seals, reducing its

insulation abilities and leading to bodytemperature fluctuations and hypothermia.

Ingestion of the oil causes dehydration and

impaired digestions.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_mammalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_ottershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnipedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_temperaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_temperaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothermiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothermiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_temperaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_temperaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnipedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_ottershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_mammal


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As far as the Microorganisms in marine

environment are considered, they act

differently, although most of the

microorganism i.e. bacteria, algae, and fungietc. bear negative consequences of the oil

spills but some of the microorganisms (oil

degrading microorganisms) growth rate

increases with the increase of carbon contentin water.

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Duck covered in oil as a result of the 2007 San Francisco Bay oil spill

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_San_Francisco_Bay_oil_spillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_San_Francisco_Bay_oil_spill


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Marine Oil spills

Clean up options


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There are generally two approaches used for the

cleaning of marine oil spills

Traditional cleaning methods

Bioremediation


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1. Traditional methods:

Some of the most used traditional

methods are as under


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a. Physical methods

The physical process for the cleanup of oil spills in

marine environments is the primary method used in

the United States. Physical methods include using

booms, washing, soil movement and tilling, and

mechanical removal. The use of booms is combinedwith skimmers to control the flow and movement of

the oil and then collect the contained oil. This is a

very effective method of cleaning marine oil spills, as

well as collecting the spilled oil, and this also allowsfor minimal damage to the natural environment if the

process is carried out properly.


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Washing

Washing is a physical method that is

practiced; however this can be more time

consuming. Washing is used on the coastal

areas affected by oil spills. Washing can beperformed with the use of hot or cold water

and high or low pressure depending on the

situation. Absorbent materials can also be

used, which utilizes a hydrophobic material toaid the removal of oil along the coast.


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b. Mechanical methods

Mechanical methods of oil cleanup can also

be used, but this should only be used when

the site is not vulnerable to disruptions or

erosion. Mechanical methods are utilizedwhen the amount of oil contaminated shore

is minimal, and a mechanical machine is

capable of removing the polluted soil.


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c. Chemical methods

The most widely used chemical method is the

use of dispersants, which helps to disperse

the oil from the water surface and into the

water which allows for dilution to occur andavoids coasts and shorelines from becoming

affected. Other chemical methods include

using demulsifiers, solidifiers, and surface

film chemicals which allow for easier physicalcleaning of shorelines.


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d. Natural methods:

Natural methods of marine oil spill remediation are aslower process, which does not utilize anysupplemental actions to aid in the cleaning process. Itcan be used when the environment affected is notextremely vulnerable, or if the spill is in a location

which will have little to no impact on the site. Naturalmethods are also preferred for certain locations thatarea very sensitive and could be more impacted andaffected by physical and chemical methods than tobe left alone and allowed for nature to run its course.

Natural methods of marine oil spill cleanup primarilyinclude evaporation of pollutants, photo oxidation bysunlight, dispersion, dissolution, emulsification,adsorption, and biodegradation by the indigenousmicroorganisms.


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Major weathering processes after an oil spill


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Physical Cleaning (Marinebiotech.org)


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2. Bioremediation

Bioremediation is defined as the use of

natural microorganisms, plants, or fungi in the

correction of a contaminated or altered

environment. Bioremediation for the use of oilspill cleanup is either undergone by

bioaugmentation or biostimulation.

Bioaugmentation is the addition of

microorganism capable of degrading the toxichydrocarbons, in order to achieve a reduction

of the pollutants


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Biostimulation is the addition of nutrientsneeded by indigenous hydrocarbondegrading microorganisms in order to achievemaximum degradation of toxic compoundspresent in the oil. The degradation ofhydrocarbons begins by the conversion of thealkane chain or polycyclic aromatichydrocarbon (PAH) into an alcohol. Oxidation

then converts the compound to an aldehydeand then into an acid and eventually intowater, carbon dioxide, and biomass.


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Biostimulation, the addition of nutrients, is practiced for

marine oil spill cleanup when there is an existing population

of oil degrading microbes present. When an oil spill occurs,the result is a large increase in carbon and this also

stimulates the growth of the already present oil degrading

microorganisms. However, these microorganisms are

limited in the amount of growth and remediation that can

occur by the amount of available nitrogen and phosphorus.By adding these supplemental nutrients in the proper

concentrations, the hydrocarbon degrading microbes are

capable of achieving their maximum growth rate and hence

the maximum rate of pollutant uptake. It has been foundthat when using nitrogen for the supplemental nutrient, a

maximum growth rate is achieved by the oil degrading

microorganisms at a concentration of 2.0 mg/L .


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Biostimulation has been proven to

be an effective way of achieving

increased hydrocarbon degradationby the indigenous microbial

population.


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Hydrocarbon Degrading Microorganisms


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Bioaugmentation, the addition of microbes

capable of degrading hydrocarbons, is used

when there are pollutants types which are

unable to be degraded by the existing

microorganisms. There are many different

types of hydrocarbon degradingmicroorganisms, with more than 200 known

species of bacteria, fungi, and yeast which

are capable of degrading compounds assimple as methane to compounds with more

than 40 carbon atoms


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Bioremediation has many advantages overtraditional

cleanup methods of marine oil spills. One of the major

advantages of bioremediation is the savings in cost

and also the savings in the time put forth by workers to

clean a contaminated site. The financial savings of

bioremediation, when used properly, have tremendous

benefits compared to traditional cleanup processes.

Another way that bioremediation allows for savings isthat unlike traditional methods, bioremediation

continues to clean the contaminated site without the

constant need of workers. This saves a great deal of

money which would be spent on labor hours, and it alsoallows for time to be spent performing further research

on bioremediation.


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Bioremediation is also advantageous due to its

Environmental friendly approach. Unlike

chemical methods, no foreign or toxic chemicalsare added to the site. It is also environmentally

friendly because it does not require any disruption

to the natural habitat which often occurs from

physical and chemical methods of cleanup.Bioremediation allows fornatural organisms to

degrade the toxic hydrocarbons into simple

compounds which pose no threat to the

environment, and this also eliminates the need to

remove and transport the toxic compounds to

another site


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Prevention of the Oil spills

Secondary containment - methods to prevent

releases of oil or hydrocarbons into environment.

Oil Spill Prevention Containment and

Countermeasures (SPCC) program by the UnitedStatesEnvironmental Protection Agency.

Double hulling - build double hulls into vessels, which

reduces the risk and severity of a spill in case of a

collision or grounding. Existing single-hull vessels

can also be rebuilt to have a double hull
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marine oil spill impacts on microorganism and cleanup

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