Mycoremediation of Petroleum: A Literature Review

Mycoremediation is a cleanup technique within the larger field of bioremediation. In this literature review, the history, species and methods of mycoremediation are investigated. The literature suggests that many fungi have the ability to degrade a wide variety of pollutants. The functional group white-rot fungi have previously been shown to biodegrade petroleum using extracellular enzymes, and have received much popular attention. For this reason, the white-rot basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus is the focus of this review. The extracellular enzymes that make mycoremediation possible, fungi’s synergy with bacteria, and the effects of temperature are discussed. The authors compare mycoremediation to other bioremediation methods. The authors conclude that environmental factors such as aeration, soil structure, nutrient level and especially temperature, may have stronger effects on petroleum loss than inoculation with white-rot fungi. For volatile pollutants such as diesel, the use of fungal inoculation may be economical only when fungal spawn compost is abundantly available. Composting also may be an inexpensive method to increase temperature, enhancing remediation of hydrocarbons.