Selection and characterization of soil microorganisms in hydrocarbon biodegradation on crude oil contaminated media

Abstract

Abstract. Fauzi M, Hariyadi HR, Setiawati MR, Wulandari AP, Suryatmana P. 2017. Selection and characterization of soil microorganisms in hydrocarbon biodegradation on crude oil contaminated media. Bioteknologi 14: 32-36. This study aims to find the microorganisms that have the ability to degrade hydrocarbon in crude oil contaminated media. The crude oil was taken from PT, Pertamina RU VI, Balongan, Indramayu, West Java, Indonesia. This study was carried out from September to October 2016 in Laboratory of Soil Microbiology, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia. The strains were from the same laboratory and as follows: Azospirillum sp., Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas cepacia, Bacillus subtilis, Penicillium sp., and Aspergillus niger. The selection of microbes is based on the characteristic of microorganisms on degrading hydrocarbon from crude oil on media containing crude oil (Total Plate Count = TPC), the capability on degrading the hydrocarbon of crude oil, and the capability of dissolving phosphorus microbes. The results showed that Acinetobacter sp. and Azospirillum sp. as nitrogen fixation bacteria, had higher cell population than Azospirillum sp. While P. cepacia and Penicillium sp., as phosphorus dissolving microbes group had higher cell population than B. subtilis and A. niger. On the process of biodegradation of hydrocarbon, P. cepacia had higher on efficiency of hydrocarbon than B. subtilis, Penicillium sp. was more efficient than A. niger, and Acinetobacter sp. was more efficient than Azospirillum sp. The characteristic capability of a microbe in dissolving phosphate substance in media was marked with halo zone form on Pikovskaya media in Petri dish, where P. cepacia had larger halo zone than B. subtilis and Penicillium sp. had larger halo zone than A. niger.