Cleaning Oil Contaminated Beaches with Fertilizer-Bacteria Technology

Numerous studies describe the necessity of adding nitrogen and phosphorus to facilitate microbial degradation of hydrocarbons. For example, a field trial of a controlled-release, hydrophobic fertilizer together with crude oil degrading bacteria was conducted in 1992 on an oil contaminated sandy beach in Israel (1). The results of the study showed an approximately 86% degradation of pentane compounds as compared to only a 15% decrease in a control plot of beach. Later that year the entire beach, containing approximately 200 tons of crude oil, was cleaned using the fertilizer-bacteria technology.

1. Petroleum bioremediation - a multiphase problem. Rosenberg E, Legmann R, Kushmaro A, Taube R, Adler E and Ron EZ. Biodegradation, Volume 3, Numbers 2-3, 337-350 1992

Give Companies Marketing Oil Eating Bacteria a Chance in Gulf Oil Spill Clean Up

There are a number of companies that specialize in production of hydrocarbon-eating microbes for use in bioremediation of oil spills. For example, Clift Industries, Inc. markets a blend of a dozen microbial strains, enzymes and nutrients designed to digest hydrocarbons. Similarly, Alabaster Corp. also sells a blend of naturally occurring, non-pathogenic oil degrading microbes. A number of other companies offer products that accelerate biodegradation by providing the necessary support and stimulation for native microbes to multiply and produce enzymes to speed up the metabolic process of biodegradation. For example, Universal Remediation Inc. sells miniature spheres comprised of bee’s wax and soy wax, which encapsulate oil and allow bacteria to break it down. BioNutraTech markets a biostimulant composite particle that can accelerate biodegradation by providing the necessary nutrients for native microbes.

The Gulf Coast Restoration Plan Needs To Support Health and Environmental Research

The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided an unprecedented level of funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ($8.2 billion) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) ($3 billion) to help stimulate the US economy through the support and advancement of scientific research. A similar boost to NIH and NSF funding should be part of the Gulf Coast Restoration Plan proposed by President Obama on June 15, 2010. Funds provided to NIH could be used to support meritorious research programs that will study expected deleterious impacts of petroleum contamination on the health of Gulf coast residents. NSF funds could be used to support high-return, innovative research related to bioremediation, habitat restoration and comprehensive studies of the impact of the oil leak on wildlife. Special priorities must be given to those research projects that will stimulate the economy of the Gulf coast region, create or retain jobs, and have the potential for making rapid scientific progress.

Bioremediation by Application of Fertilizers to Oil-Soaked Gulf Coast Shorelines

Bioremediation approaches based on the application of fertilizers to oil-soaked shorelines have been shown to stimulate the rate of oil biodegradation by ubiquitous oil-degrading microorganisms (1). Weeks after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in March of 1989, a bioremediation approach was employed on a number of oil contaminated sites in Prince William Sound. Fertilizer was applied to these sites in order to promote growth of naturally occurring bacteria capable of degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds present in the oil. Follow-up studies of the impact of this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved approach showed that the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were significantly lower in treated sites as compared to untreated sites.

1. Swannell RP, Lee K, McDonagh M. Field evaluations of marine oil spill bioremediation. Microbiol Rev. 1996 Jun;60(2):342-65.

Old Grand-Dad Whiskey Bottles and Leaking Gulf Oil

Bobby Thompson is a Texan, a scientist, and a man rich in life experiences. In the early 1960’s he participated in a research project in which thousands of Old Grand-Dad Whiskey Bottles with return mail addresses sealed inside were tossed into the Gulf Sea at sites around Pass a la Outre, Louisiana. The results not only mapped currents within the Gulf, but also demonstrated that many of the bottles floated on currents that ultimately carried them to Ireland. The findings of this simple experiment highlight the potential for the oil now spewing into the Gulf to contaminate beaches all along the path of the Gulf Stream, which originates in the Gulf of Mexico and passes along the eastern coast of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Why Isn't Bioremediation Being Employed on the Gulf Oil Leak?

Dispersants, skimmers, absorbents, containment booms, and shovels are all that the public hears about as being used to clean up the oil that is currently fouling the tidal marshes, rivers and beaches of the Gulf coast. These primitive technologies are proving to be largely ineffective. What about bioremediation? Naturally occurring, hydrocarbon-degrading, microbes are available that can be employed to degrade the oil. A major objection that is raised with respect to use of oil degrading microbes is that oxygen deprivation will result from their use. This is true, but the environmental impact of transient oxygen deprivation versus the persistent effects of harmful petroleum compounds on Gulf habitats has not been discussed. Forty years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, oil can still be found just beneath the surface of the shoreline of the rocky coves of Prince William Sound. Despite the extensive cleanup attempts employed in Alaska Oil Spill (which used the same techniques currently being used in the Gulf Sea), less than ten percent of the oil was recovered.

Balloon Approaches to Stem the Gulf Oil Leak

Brainstorming with my brother Gary we came up with several plausible approaches to stem the flow of oil gushing from the broken pipe in the Gulf Sea floor. Both approaches involve the use of balloons. One method is to capture the oil in an enormous balloon anchored over the pipe. This balloon would have vent pipes that would allow oil and gas to be removed to the surface for collection. Another approach would be to insert an inflatable balloon into the pipe to act as a valve/plug. The inflatable devise might allow cement to be piped through the balloon to seal the pipe.

If you have proposals they can be submitted to BP via the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center (LABEOC).