Immobilization of Microbes and Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Sisal Fiber for Crude oil Biodegradation – A Micro-Scale Study

Abstract

This work was performed to determine the effect of synthesized iron oxide nanoparticle with the consortium of two isolated bacterial strains from the crude oil contaminated site. The iron oxide nanoparticle (FeNPs) was synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method and confirmed with its characterization results such as UV-spectroscopy, High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HR-SEM), and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) equipped with (EDS) Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy. The isolates were cultured in LBBH (Luria-Bertani and Bushnell Haas) medium containing crude oil as a carbon source with incubation for 60 days. The study was performed in consortium of isolates and FeNPs (150mg) adhered and immobilized with bio-carrier material. This is a supportive material for the microbes and nanoparticles and acts as a mesh to the crude oil contaminated environment. The rate of biodegradation was analysed for five incubation time span (7^th, 14^th, 28^th, 42^nd and 60^th day incubation) was investigated quantitatively by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The degradation activity was observed with 40% in 60^th day of incubation showed better deterioration of crude oil and its heavy components. These results conclude that, by studying the isolated microbes and synthesized nanoparticles immobilized in natural bio-carrier provided better degradation results which led its biocompatibility and quality to influence the biodegradation of crude oil.