[Simulation of biodegradation of petroleum contaminants in natural waters of the Yellow River].

Petroleum contaminants is one of the major pollutants in the Yellow River. Laboratory simulation experiments were carried out to study the natural biodegradation of the petroleum contaminants. When adding 10 mg/L petroleum contaminants to the Yellow River water samples containing 0 or 0.5 g/L sediment, the petroleum contaminants-degrading bacteria increased gradually after about one week of acclimatization. With the sediment content of 0.5 g/L, about 85% petroleum contaminants with the initial concentration of 11.64 mg/L in river water could be degraded within 63 days at 20 degrees C. The biodegradation rate was greatly influenced by the sediment content and the initial concentration of petroleum contaminants, and such effect was different from one degradation stage to another. In addition, the existence of sediment affected the biodegradation kinetics of petroleum contaminants.