Experimental study reveals a ternary microbial-surfactant-oxidation system degrades 84% of crude oil in wastewater, highlighting efficient bioremediation under high-loading conditions.
Key Points
To develop a synergistic ternary remediation system coupling indigenous microbial consortia, surfactants, and chemical oxidation to overcome the limitations of crude oil degradation in wastewater.
Enriched indigenous microbial consortia using four growth media (TSB, PDB, YPD, and CPD) and assessed crude oil degradation from 0.5 to >2 g·L⁻¹ over seven days.
Tracked reactive oxygen species via electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy across two surfactant-coupled oxidation setups (AES–PS vs. Tween 80).
Constructed a ternary system combining microbial treatment, surfactants, and chemical oxidation to test oil removal efficiency and oxidant consumption under high loadings (2–4 g·L⁻¹).
Enriched consortium alone cleared 47% of crude oil at 0.5–1 g·L⁻¹ in seven days, but removal efficiency dropped sharply above 2 g·L⁻¹.
The AES–PS system produced multiple radicals (SO4•⁻, •OH, •O2⁻, ¹O2) and achieved 87.8% crude oil removal within 3 hours at an initial concentration of 0.5 g·L⁻¹.
Under high loading (2–4 g·L⁻¹), the ternary system sustained an 84% removal rate using 50% less oxidant dosage, outperforming microbial remediation alone by 30% and chemical oxidation alone by 10%.