Degradation and mineralization of petroleum in sea water: Limitation by nitrogen and phosphorous

Abstract

Abstract Biodegradation and mineralization of petroleum, added at 1% (v/v) to freshly collected sea water, were measured using gas–liquid chromatographic, residual weight, and CO 2 ‐evolution techniques. Only 3% of the added petroleum was biodegraded and 1% was mineralized in unamended sea water after 18 days of incubation. Added individually, nitrate (10 −2 M ) or phosphate (3.5 × 10 −4 M ) supplements caused little improvement, but when added in combination, they increased petroleum biodegradation and mineralization to 70% and 42%, respectively. Attempts to clean up oil spills with the aid of microorganisms should take into consideration the nutritional deficiencies of sea water.