%0 Journal Article
%T Biodegradation Potentials of Hydrocarbon Degraders from 
Waste-lubricating Oil-spilled Soils in Ebonyi State, Nigeria
%A S.C.ONUOHA1
%J INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE and BIOLOGY
%@ 1814-9596
%D 2011
%X The potential of bacterial isolates as hydrocarbon degraders was investigated. A total of 27 bacterial isolates were able to grow 
on mineral salt medium by enrichment procedure. The result of the screening tests of the isolates for hydrocarbon degradation 
showed different degree of degradation in mineral salt medium using spent oil as sole source of carbon were characterized and 
identified using standard methods. The bacterial isolates identified as Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Corynebacterium species 
showed different growth as measured by the optical density, total viable count, and different range of pH values throughout the
period of incubation. Hydrocarbon degradation was demonstrated by gas chromatography and the result showed that 
Corynebacterium sp. has the highest ability to degrade spent motor oil (71.85%) followed by Pseudomonas sp. (63.46%), 
while Bacillus sp. (2.76%) found it difficult to degrade the hydrocarbon. In addition, emulsification test was carried out for the 
three organisms, and the results showed that Corynebacterium sp. has the highest emulsification ability at 1% spent oil. In 
conclusion, this study suggests the potential use of the isolate for bioremediation of contaminated environments. £¿ 2011 
Friends Science Publishers
%K Hydrocarbon
%K Degradation
%K Emulsification
%K Gas chromatography
%K Waste-lubricating oil
%U http://www.fspublishers.org/ijab/past-issues/IJABVOL_13_NO_4/21.pdf