TITLE:
Comparative Studies on Biodegradative Abilities of Pleurotus ostreatus and P. pulmonarius in Soils Contaminated with Crude and Used Engine Oils
AUTHORS:
Fatuyi Olanipekun Ekundayo
KEYWORDS:
White Rot Fungi, Biodegradation, Crude Oil, Used Engine Oil
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.4 No.12,
September
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: Crude and used
engine oil degrading ability of two white rot fungi Pleurotus ostreatus and P.
pulmonarius were investigated for six months. One hundred grams of
sterilized soil moistened with 75% distilled water (w/v) were weighed into 9 × 9 × 4 cm (350 cm3)
jam bottles and mixed thoroughly with bonny light crude oil and used
engine oil at different concentrations (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 25% and 30%),
separately. Each bottle was then inoculated with two agar plugs of a vigorously
grown mycelium of P. ostreatus and P. pulmonarius using a sterile cork borer. The bottles were incubated at room
temperature for 6 months. The mycelia-ramified waste was separated from soils
and analysed for physicochemical parameters such as organic matter, carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH and total hydrocarbon content, (THC) after
drying. The organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus contents in contaminated
and inoculated soils were increased after six months. However, decrease in
potassium, pH and THC occurred in these soils after the period of
investigation. P. ostreatus reduced
the initial THC to 8% and 9% in soils contaminated with 20% of crude and engine
oils, respectively, which was lower than that of P. pulmonarius. The two
white rot fungi could be exploited in bioremediation of soils contaminated with
bonny light crude and used engine oils.