OH NO!! OIL SPILL!!!

Environmental ScienceFriday March 30th 2012

Bellwork 3/30

• Oh No! There’s been a pipeline break. This break has caused oil to spill all over the coast, in the water and on the land. Many animals and plants have been affected. Spend the next few minutes looking at the oil spill. Think of methods that could be used to clean up the oil. What would you expect to be the most effective method? (Write your responses down.)

Restoring The Environment

All across Oklahoma, the picture is

looking better every day.

Restoring faith as we restore the land – OERB

Bioremediation…..

is the process of using microscopic organisms (bacteria) to convert hazardous pollutants into less toxic compounds.

Oil-eating bacteria?

These microscopic organisms are called oleophilic bacteria or oil-eating microbes.

These bacteria are heterotrophic. They require a food source for energy and nutrients.

Bioremediation…..

was successfully used to treat the crude oil contamination on the Alaskan shoreline after the Exxon Valdez spill.

Hungry Microbe

s

Bioremediation

Every year approximately 100 million gallons of petroleum spill

into the environment.

Petroleum is a mixture of hydrocarbons and various inorganic compounds.

Hungry Microbes

This activity is designed to demonstrate bioremediation of a petroleum spill on water and land.

Why would they eat ?

oil

Some heterotrophic bacteria naturally use oils in the environment as their food source.

Oil-eating microbes use the hydrocarbons in petroleum for food and energy.

Why is oil harmful to the environment?

The aromatic compounds dissolve in water and are toxic to living cells, attacking the cell membranes and adversely affecting their normal functioning.

And …. oil all over the place is just a big mess!!

How do they eat the oil?

The bacteria break down the oil to molecular size,

increasing the surface area of the oil and forming an

emulsion.

Now the bacteria can begin feeding on the hydrocarbons.

Hungry Microbes

Bioremediation of the petroleum spill used heterotrophic bacteria to metabolize the petroleum into products that are safe for the environment.

OIL

Restoring the Environment The oil-eating bacteria decompose

hydrocarbons and clean the spills to restore the environment.

What was in the broth?

The microorganisms (bacteria) require micronutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen to survive and grow.

The micronutrients were provided in the Bushnell-Haas broth.