The Impact of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles on Crude Oil Biodegradation with Bacterial Consortium

This study was performed to determine the effect of synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles on the consortium of isolated bacterial strains from the crude oil-contaminated site. The iron oxide nanoparticle (FeNPs) was synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method and confirmed with its characterization results such as UV-spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HR-SEM), Zeta potential and Particle Size Analyser studies. The isolates were cultured in LBBH (Luria-Bertani and Bushnell Haas) medium containing crude oil as a carbon source with incubation for 7 days. This study was performed using FeNPs with four different concentrations (10, 50, 100 and 150mg) incorporated with the isolated microbes clubbed as a consortium. The rate of biodegradation was investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. By comparing the control sample (crude oil) there was a better degradation in FeNPs added bacterial culture than consortium degradation. The obtained results conclude that studying different concentrations of FeNPs with the consortium of isolated microbes showed degradation differences, whereas 150mg concentration has a better degradation effect compared to other variations. It should be carried out to avoid agglomeration of nanoparticles by improving their biocompatibility and quality to influence the biodegradation of crude oil.