Author(s)

N Takahashi, Y Yamada, Y Maeno & M Takezawa

Abstract

Evaluation of beeswax based petroleum bioremediation products B. Waldron1 & W.M. Griffin2 Petrol Rem, Inc., USA 2 GMS Technologies, Inc. and The Green Design Initiative, Carnegie Mellon University, USA Abstract PRPR is physically modified beeswax that stimulates the natural microbial population to degrade oil. The focus of this study was to demonstrate the use of PRP in the form of a small boom that can retain and enhance the degradation of the retained oil. Diesel fuel was used as the model oil. The experimentation was performed using a custom designed model bilge reactor in a microcosm study. We demonstrate that the observed accelerated degradation was due to the PRP stimulating the natural microbial population capable of degrading hydrocarbon. We describe a series of experiments designed to determine the efficacy and mechanism of the commercial product PRP/BioBoom@. Experiments were carried out in specially constructed tanks, which exposed the oil spill response product to near-environmental conditions (mesocosm). We found that: PRP enhanced biodegradation of the model oil compared to the non-stimulated natural population; 97 and 76 percent reduction in measured aliphatic and aromatics, respectively, compared to the non-stimulated natural population which degraded the aliphatic and aromatics 48 and 5 percent, respectively. PRP used as a boom (BioBoom) was observed to absorb free oil and enhance its biodegradation within the boom. Eighty-three percent of the aliphatics and 51 percent of the aromatics were degraded within the boom. A theory for the efficacy of the material and its potential benefits in marine management and pollution control is proposed. 1 Introduction The discharge of oily wastes into waterways is a common and global concern. Estimates place United States petroleum consumption at over 290 billion gallons each year. Due to the challenge of transport, refining, distribution, and

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