Trials of bioremediation on a beach affected by the heavy oil spill of the Prestige

The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of several bioremediation products in accelerating the in situ biodegradation of the heavy fuel oil spill of the Prestige. Trials of bioremediation were conducted in sand, rocks and granite tiles on the beach of Sorrizo (A Coruña, NW Spain) that was polluted by the spill. Neither the added microorganisms nor the nutrients significantly enhanced the degradation rate of the fuel oil in rocks, granite tiles or sand. PAH degradation up to 80% was determined in sand and tiles. In tiles the oxygen content of the residual oil increased from 1.6% up to 8% in 90 days, which could be explained by the accumulation of products coming from the partial oxidation of the hydrocarbons. Eighteen months after the spill, the rocks of the beach were still coated by a black layer of weathered fuel oil. For this reason an oleophilic product, sunflower biodiesel was tested on a rock. The application of biodiesel accelerated the gradually clean-up of the polluted surface and could also accelerate the degradation of the residual oil.