AN APPROACH FOR THE BIODEGRADATION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON

Environmental pollution not only alters the environment but also changes the growth rate of various flora and fauna. Due to the irresponsible disposal of waste materials, the environment is going to be more and more polluted. Discharge of hydrocarbons in the water bodies is contaminating the water sources. These hydrocarbons are affecting the living organism. The solution to this problem has been found too expensive with little effects. To overcome this problem, some biological methods are introduced, in biological method; microbial degradation of hydrocarbons is the most promising method. The proposed study aimed to isolate and identify hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial species from the Mathura refinery, Mathura U.P. India. These species were isolated from petroleum-contaminated refinery water and grew on nutrient agar media, identified according to their distinct morphological, and biochemical characteristics, with16s rRNA sequencing. Results of this study confirmed the presence of various bacterial isolates such as Brevibacillus nitrificans, Algoriphagus shivajiensis, Bacillus marisflavi, Acinetobacter junii, Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes, and Bacillus pumilus from the collected samples based on the Bushnell Haas method and separation funnel method. Further, identified bacteria were tested for the maximum hydrocarbon degradation capacity in liquid culture, and results of the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) suggested that only two bacterial species viz., P. pseudoalcaligenes and B. pumilus having the maximum hydrocarbon degradation capacity.