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A MODEL FOR DIFFUSION CONTROLLED BIOAVAILABILITY OF CRUDE OIL COMPONENTS
Citation:
Uraizee**, F. A., A D. Venosa*, AND M. T. Suidan. A MODEL FOR DIFFUSION CONTROLLED BIOAVAILABILITY OF CRUDE OIL COMPONENTS. R.L. Crawford (ed.), BIODEGRADATION. Springer Netherlands, , Netherlands, 8(5):287-296, (1997).
Description:
Crude oil is a complex mixture of several different structural classes of compounds including alkanes, aromatics, heterocyclic polar compounds, and asphaltenes. The rate and extent of microbial degradation of crude oil depends on the interaction between the physical and biochemical properties of the biodegradable compounds and their interactions with the non-biodegradable fraction. In this study we have systematically altered the concentration of non-biodegradable components of crude oil to the microorganisms. We have also developed a mathematical model that explains and accounts for the dependence of biogradation of crude oil through a putative bioavailability parameter. Experimental results indicate that as the asphaltene concentration in oil increases, the maximum oxygen uptake in respirometers decreases. The mathematically fitted bioavailability parameter of degradable components of oil also decreases as the asphaltene concentration increases.