Surfactant biocatalyst for remediation of recalcitrant organics and heavy metals
AssigneeSavannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC
InventorsRobin Brigmon, Sandra Story, Denis Altman, Christopher Berry
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Novel strains of isolated and purified bacteria have been identified which have the ability to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons including a variety of PAHs. Several isolates also exhibit the ability to produce a biosurfactant. The combination of the biosurfactant-producing ability along with the ability to degrade PAHs enhances the efficiency with which PAHs may be degraded. Additionally, the biosurfactant also provides an additional ability to bind heavy metal ions for removal from a soil or aquatic environment.
Claims15
A biologically pure bacterial strain for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons comprising an isolate selected from the group consisting of ATCC accession numbers PTA-5570, PTA-5571, PTA-5572, PTA-5573, PTA-5574, PTA-5575, PTA-5576, PTA-5577, PTA-5578, PTA-5579, PTA-5580, PTA-5581 and combinations thereof.
A process of bioremediation of petroleum pollutants from a soil environment comprising the steps of:
- providing a supply of a contaminated soil having a petroleum pollutant;
- introducing into said supply of contaminated soil at least one bacteria isolate which metabolizes constituents of the petroleum pollutant and which further produces a biosurfactant;
- and,
- providing adequate nutrients for a treatment time sufficient for the pollutant utilizing isolate to degrade the petroleum pollution.
A process of treating a mixed waste of soil contaminated with a heavy metal pollutant and a petroleum pollutant comprising the steps of:
- providing a supply of a contaminated soil containing a heavy metal pollutant and a petroleum pollutant;
- introducing into said supply of contaminated soil at least one bacterial isolate which metabolizes a constituent of the petroleum pollutant and which further produces a biosurfactant;
- and,
- periodically removing a portion of the produced biosurfactant from said supply of soil, said biosurfactant containing therein either a portion of said heavy metals or said petroleum pollutants;
- and,
- repeating said step of removing a portion of said surfactant until said heavy metal concentration is reduced to a target value.
A process of treating a soil containing low-level radioactive material and petroleum hydrocarbons comprising the steps of:
- providing a supply of contaminated soil containing a radioactive waste and a petroleum hydrocarbon;
- introducing into said supply of contaminated soil at least one bacterial isolate which metabolizes a constituent of the petroleum hydrocarbon and is selected from the group consisting of ATCC accession numbers PTA-5570, PTA-5571, PTA-5572, PTA-5573, PTA-5574, PTA-5575, PTA-5576, PTA-5577, PTA-5578, PTA-5579, PTA-5580, PTA-5581, and combinations thereof which metabolize a constituent of the petroleum hydrocarbons;
- and,
- treating said supply of contaminated soil until a treated concentration of said petroleum pollutant is less than about 100 ppm total petroleum hydrocarbons.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.