Diesel Biodegradation Capacities and Biosurfactant Production in Saline-Alkaline Conditions by Delftia sp NL1, Isolated from an Algerian Oilfield

Abstract

In this study, a diesel oil-degrading bacterium was isolated from an oilfield water injection (water-bearing formations, 1,205 m depth) in Algeria. The bacterial strain, designated NL1, was cultivated on diesel oil as sole carbon and energy sources. Molecular analyses of the 16S rRNA gene sequence (KY397882) placed NL1 strain closely related to distinct cultivated species of the Delftia genus. Optimal diesel oil biodegradation by Delftia sp NL1 strain occurred at pH 11, 40 °C, 2 M NaCl and initial hydrocarbon concentration of 5% (v/v) as sole carbon source. GC-MS analyses evidenced that strain Delftia sp NL1 was able to degrade more than 66.76% of diesel oil within only 7 days. On the other hand, and in the same conditions, biosurfactant production by Delftia sp NL1 was also evaluated evidencing high emulsifying capacity (E₂₄ = 81%), ability to lower the surface tension of growing media (with the value of 25.7 mN m⁻¹), and production of glycolipids (8.7 g L⁻¹) as biosurfactants. This research presents indigenous strain Delftia sp NL1 for diesel degradation and synthesis of biosurfactant in extreme conditions. In this sense, strain NL1 is a good candidate for possible in situ oil recovery and in wastewater treatment in refineries and oil terminals in petroleum industry.

Keywords:

• Biosurfactant
• Delftia sp NL1
• diesel
• oilfield
• pH
• salinity

Acknowledgment

We gratefully acknowledge the work of Adriana Anzil from the ESA unit at Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Author contributions

Conceived and designed experiments: NL.

Performed experiments: NL.

Analyzed data: NL, MLl.

Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: NL, SKG, PS, MLG, MLl.

Wrote the paper: NL, MLl, PS, SKG.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).