Oil Spill Bioremediation Kit

1. Carolina Science Supply Oil Spill Bioremediation Kit

2. Purpose of this kit: • The activities in this kit are intended to simulate how oil-degrading microbes can be used to break down petroleum after oceanic oil spills. • The activities are NOT a direct representation of marine oil spill bioremediation.

3. Kit Information • Carolina Item #181322 • $89.25 • Kit designed for a class of 32 students

4. Kit Contents • Included in the kit: • 1 bottle of tetrazolium indicator, 0.02% • Chemical indicator that will turn from clear to pink when reduced • 1 bottle of oil • 1 container of Rid-X Septic System Treatment • 1 sheet of labels • 64 culture tubes with caps • 81 plastic pipettes • Needed, but not supplied: • Test tube racks • At lease 64 mL of distilled water • 140 mL warm tap water • Funnel • 20 x 20 Cheese cloth

5. Pre-Lab Preparation • Prior to the lab, the Rid-X solution needs to be made, left to react, and then sifted. • This process can be completed the day before the lab.

6. Breakdown of an Oil Spill • In a spill of crude oil in the ocean: • 25% of the oil evaporates and becomes air pollution • 15% of the oil consists of heavy compounds which stick together and sink to the bottom of the ocean • The remaining 60% is broken down over time into simpler, nontoxic products by oil-degrading microbes (microscopic living organisms) in a process called biodegradation.

7. Bioremediation • Human intervention to facilitate microbial removal of pollutants from the environment • Three major approaches to bioremediation for the cleanup of marine oil spills

8. Bioremediation Approach #1 • Biostimulation • Optimizing the environment of oil-degrading microbes to accelerate their growth and metabolic activity • Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron are added to the ocean environment, much like applying fertilizer to a lawn • Negatives • Nutrients must remain in contact with the oil • Concentration must remain at an optimal level for an extended period of time.

9. Bioremediation Approach #2 • Bioaugmentation • The process of supplementing (or “seeding”) a population of naturally occurring, oil-degrading microbes with additional microorganisms • Used when the existing population of microbes in a contaminated region is not optimally suited to degrade the type of oil present • Positives • These microbes cans be easily cultivated in large quantities in laboratories and can be stored, ready for use, for up to three years

10. Bioremediation Approach #3 • Genetically Engineered Microorganisms (GEM) • Most naturally occurring microbes cannot achieve complete degradation on its own • Scientists are creating genetically modified microorganisms to combine requisite pathways and enzymes in one organism in order to degrade oil more efficiently and extensively • Relatively new approach and is undergoing development

11. Experiment Design • Lab consists of four culture tubes to be used in two experiments Experiment A • Oil will be treated with oil-degrading microbes (experimental condition) and without oil-degrading microbes (control condition) in the presence of the tetrazolium chemical indicator Experiment B • Oil will be treated with oil-degrading microbes (experimental condition) and without oil-degrading microbes (control condition) but without the chemical indicator