Slurry-phase biodegradation of weathered oily sludge waste

We assessed the biodegradation of a typical oily sludge waste (PB401) in Mexico using several regimes of indigenous microbial consortium and relevant bioremediation strategies in slurry-phase system. Abiotic loss of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the PB401 was insignificant, and degradation rates under the various treatment conditions ranged between 666.9 and 2168.7 mg kg−1 day−1 over a 15 days reaction period, while viable cell count peaked at between log10 5.7 and log10 7.4 cfu g−1. Biostimulation with a commercial fertilizer resulted in 24% biodegradation of the TPH in the oily waste and a corresponding peak cell density of log10 7.4 cfu g−1. Addition of non-indigenous adapted consortium did not appear to enhance the removal of TPH from the oily waste. It would appear that the complexities of the components of the alkylaromatic fraction of the waste limited biodegradation rate even in a slurry system.