Some Investigation on Bioremediation of Sediment in Persian Gulf Coast (RESEARCH NOTE)

The amount of petroleum hydrocarbon and heavy metals in the sediment of the Persian Gulf’s shore, at 8 selected stations were determined and showed the maximum of 143.6 and 58.6 mg/kg sediment, respectively, both maximum amounts were related to Emam Hassan zone which is located at 50 kilometers to west Boushehr port. Bioremediation of contaminated sediment were studied in slurry and solid-state fermentation. 8 bacteria types were isolated. Four species Em2, SH, GN1 and GN3 presented maximum PAH removal efficiency. Biodegradation efficiency under slurry conditions was observed after about 45 days, which during this period, naphthalene and phenanthrene showed 73% and 66% removal efficiency respectively. Under solid-state conditions, microbial activity of mixed and pure culture was studied. The results presented that mixed culture due to high ability of different strains for growth, showed higher degradability compared to pure culture, but insufficient mixing under solid state condition resulted in a low mass transfer rate of nutrient which caused reducing cell activity, therefore removal efficiency decreased under solid state condition.