Effect of nickel on the mineralization of hydrocarbons by indigenous microbiota in Kuwait soils

✍ Scribed by Esmaeil S. AL-Saleh; Christian Obuekwe

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 172 KB
• Volume: 49
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0233-111X
• DOI: 10.1002/jobm.200800130

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Assessment of nickel contents in soil samples in Kuwait indicated only a minor difference in concentration in hydrocarbon‐contaminated (86 mg kg^–1^ soil) and non‐contaminated soils (84 mg kg^–1^ soil). The potential inhibitory effects of nickel on the number of hydrocarbon degraders, and hydrocarbon utilization were investigated over a wide range of nickel concentrations to span concentrations observed in the soil. Nickel addition, as nickel sulphate, to soil samples reduced the number of hydrocarbon degraders in all samples by a wide range (15–96%) depending on concentration and the hydrocarbon substrate utilized. Similarly, the metabolic activities were affected as observed in mineralization (3–60%) of soils amended with various concentrations of nickel. The inhibitive effects of nickel on hexadecane and crude oil utilization were minimal but were significantly higher with naphthalene (P < 0.05) in both hydrocarbon‐contaminated and non‐contaminated soils. Polarographic determination of hydrocarbons induced oxygen uptake rate demonstrated the tendency of nickel to significantly inhibit (P < 0.05) the oxidation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons compared to aliphatic hydrocarbons. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)