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Abstract
The bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soil was investigated at laboratory scale,
using three different approaches. The first approach comprised biostimulation of indigenous
microorganisms. The second approach involved combination of biostimulation of indigenous
microorganisms and bioaugmentation by inoculation with free cells of petroleum degrading
Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain Spet. The third was a variation of the second, in which
inoculation with encapsulated cells in starch and sodium alginate of P. aeruginosa
strain Spet was applied. The bioremediation of the original hydrocarbon-contaminated
soil (3.5% dry weight) and that of diluted with clean natural soil at 1:1 w/w were
investigated. By providing sufficient moisture, nutrients and aeration by stirring
in the original contaminated soil, total concentration of n-alkanes was reduced by
94% after 191 days of treatment and total concentration of 16 polycyclic aromatic
compounds by 79%, while for the 1:1 diluted soils biodegradation reached 89% and 79%,
respectively. The results showed that bioaugmentation with free or encapsulated P.
aeruginosa cells and/or soil dilution had no significant effect on biodegradation.
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