Remediation of refinery oily sludge using isolated strain and biosurfactant

A series of laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the bioremediation of oil refinery sludge using an isolated bacterial strain and a bio-surfactant. The strain called uncultured Luteibacter sp. isolated from soils from a previous sludge landfarming site was used for bioaugmentation. A commercial biosurfactant of rhamnolipid (JBR 425) was used for improving the bioavailability of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) to the bacteria strain. The impacts of initial total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration, nutrient supply, and biosurfactant concentration on the remediation process were examined. The degradation efficiencies of n-alkenes between C10-C16, C16-C34 and C34-C50 were also compared. The results can provide sound scientific basis for developing cost-effective remediation methods to treat oil refinery sludge.