Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

5-2022

School/College

College of Science, Engineering, and Technology (COSET)

Degree Name

MS in Biology

Committee Chairperson

Ayodotun Sodipe

Committee Member 1

Mario Hollomon

Committee Member 2

Sonya Good

Committee Member 3

Audrey Player

Keywords

Anthracene, Bacillus Thuringiensis, Biodegradation, Naphthalene, Pseudomonas Aeruginoa

Abstract

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) from crude oil and other sources is one of the most serious environmental problems. PAH has an adverse effect on human health, water bodies and agricultural products. Removal of PAH through the physical and chemical methods are expensive and not environmentally friendly. Bioremediation, which is the use of microorganisms to degrade environmental pollutants like naphthalene and anthracene and render them less toxic, provides a cheaper and safer method. The objective of this research is to study the naphthalene and anthracene degrading potentials of bacteria isolated from soil samples with evidence of cude oil contamination. Another objective of this study is to determine the effect of pH on the biodegradation potentials of good bacterial degrader that have been identified. The soil samples were enriched in a mineral nutrient that contains Phenol as the only carbon source. The Bacteria that can grow and be isolated from the mineral nutrient are those that can degrade phenol and make use of its carbon source for growth. These isolated and identified bacteria were further inoculated into mineral nutrient that contained naphthalene and anthracene as the only source of carbon and their growth rate is determined over time. The higher the growth of a bacterium in the medium, the higher the naphthalene and anthracene degrading potential of the bacterium. This research revealed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus thuringiensis are good degraders of both naphthalene and anthracene. Acidic condition favored the degrading potentials of the 2 bacteria than the basic conditions. Concentration of the PAH (Naphthalene and anthracene) was found to play a significant role in the biodegradation potential of the 2 selected bacteria. The higher the concentration, the lower the degradation potential

Included in

Biology Commons

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