The potential use of in the remediation of crude oil pollution.

This study investigated the effects of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and organic matter on a crude oil-polluted soil by . The treatments consisted of crude oil at two levels (3 and 6% w/w), municipal waste compost at two levels (5 and 10% v/v), and two different bacterial strains ( sp.141 and sp. 27ps). At the end of the growth period, the plants were harvested and prepared for the laboratory analyses. The greatest population of oil degrading-bacteria (4.6 × 10 CFU/g soil) was observed in the treatment containing 10% compost, 6% crude oil, and sp.141. The highest crude oil degradation (76.49%) was recorded in the soil polluted with 6% crude oil, amended with 10% compost, and inoculated with sp.141. The investigation on the degradation of the chains of C10-C35 compounds indicated that, in various treatments, the most abundant compound was among those with fewer carbon atoms (C12-C25), so the application of organic matter boosted the degradation of crude oil. In conclusion, seedlings has an acceptable efficiency in the remediation of the oil-contaminated soil affected by biological factors (compost and bacteria), which is because of their high tolerance to the pollution and their ability to penetrate deeper soil layers.