Absence of naturally occurring petroleum eaters

karrie

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Jan 6, 2007
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Does anyone else find it odd that in a world where petroleum has been around for eons, some close to or at the earth's surface, that no organism or creature has evolved that can utilize it for food?

There is one man made bacteria that I've heard can do it, but, you would think that nature would have been as opportunistic about petroleum as it has for the host of other products that exist naturally in the world.
 

Tonington

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Oct 27, 2006
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The Exxon Valdez was the first opportunity for a new sort of bio-remediation Karrie. They utilized naturally occurring bacteria (about 5% of the bacteria naturally occurring on those beaches will use the hydrocarbons as an energy source) but they had to add fertilizer. Carbon was in excess, nitrogen and phosphorous were deficient.

The manmade stuff is much better at it. It's essentially the same species of bacteria, only it's been lab grown to favour different energy sources. Bacteria use the easiest forms of energy to digest first, like saccharides and the like, then eventually they would utilize the hydrocarbons. The lab grown stuff is like a pedigree if you like, that prefers different sources in the hierarchy of food sources.
 

karrie

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Jan 6, 2007
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Thanks T, a great explanation.

Okay, so, the question then is why aren't we using bacteria in things like tailings ponds? While I know it's not largely petroleum left over, it is all naturally occuring chemicals. Can we play on nature to clean up that mess?
 

Tonington

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This was a lively discussion in my microbiology class two years ago. We were discussing the Sydney tar ponds, but it's the same thing essentially. The problem is, that for the natural microbes, you actually have to remove most of the heavier hydrocarbons first. Then they're pretty good at the smaller molecules.

In Canada, the release of the lab grown kinds of bacteria is against the law...even though these lab grown bugs actually come with a "kill switch". When the job is done, you add another ingredient, and it triggers a gene which kills the bacteria...GMO's and especially a genetically modified micro-organism is still too Frankenstein for politicians and the public.
 

karrie

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Jan 6, 2007
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In Canada, the release of the lab grown kinds of bacteria is against the law...even though these lab grown bugs actually come with a "kill switch". When the job is done, you add another ingredient, and it triggers a gene which kills the bacteria...GMO's and especially a genetically modified micro-organism is still too Frankenstein for politicians and the public.

Well, it did occur to me that, given the high reproduction rate of bacteria, releasing them into that kind of environment with all sorts of muskeg around, might be a recipe for disaster. How fast can they spread and evolve before they might be out of the range of effectiveness for a 'kill switch'?
 

Tonington

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I'm surprised though that the oil companies don't do more of this kind of stuff though. At my school, the bio-remediation has grown alot, from just a few grad students when I started here, to now 12. It brings in a lot of research dough at my school. Stella Jones, they have been working with us on cleaning up one of their wood preserving sites here near our school.
 

Tonington

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Well, it did occur to me that, given the high reproduction rate of bacteria, releasing them into that kind of environment with all sorts of muskeg around, might be a recipe for disaster. How fast can they spread and evolve before they might be out of the range of effectiveness for a 'kill switch'?

That, I'm not so sure on. You'd definitely want some sort of buffer zone involved...but these are long term projects, like many years...especially for a site as large as just one of those tailing ponds.
 

karrie

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That, I'm not so sure on. You'd definitely want some sort of buffer zone involved...but these are long term projects, like many years...especially for a site as large as just one of those tailing ponds.

I don't think you could ever create a 'buffer zone'. Considering they can't even keep birds out of those ponds, something is bound to go in and out and transfer bacteria, and the muskeg provides a perfect medium through which bacteria can spread.
 

Tonington

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It can be done, just not very cheaply. Again we go back to the size of the ponds. Our biopiles are covered, and have pipes feeding the pile with things like water, heating, oxygen, etc. It's kind of like a big compost pile...but yah keeping birds and other things out, that's a concern.
 

MHz

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Mar 16, 2007
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That way it cannot escape into the 'wild' and eat the oil while it is still in the sand, it would then leech into the underground resources, eat them and hitch a tanker over to the mod-east, etc, etc. There is a bacteria that likes methane or so I have heard.
BTW if hemp can clean-up gold-mine trailings I'm sure a little oil would just be a snack. Reeds, like cat-tails, are also good at sucking up toxins, especially oil.

But being hemp, that won't fly, can't undemonize a plant. What natural plants live there now?