What do you know about microorganisms that play a role in decomposing oil in the ocean? Earth as a place to live is a place for the survival of various types of ecosystems in it. More than half of the earth consists of water areas. Therefore, aquatic ecosystems are one of the richest parts on earth.
Regarding Marine Pollution and Microorganisms Playing a Role in Decomposing Oil in the Sea
The benefits of these aquatic ecosystems are not only felt for the inhabitants who live in them, but can also be felt in a larger way by the inhabitants of other ecosystems who will mutually sustain each other to form a life. Therefore, there are microorganisms that have a role to break down oil in the sea.
The sea as one of the waters on earth has its own life in it. The sea contains many sources of life that can be utilized by humans and the sea also offers life for the inhabitants in it.
From the largest animals to the smallest microorganisms that live in the sea, if properly utilized by human science, can produce immeasurable benefits for life.
Indonesia as an area of waters that becomes an international route for trade and cultivation of marine life, is passed every day by various large ships, including tankers. Ships passing through Indonesian seas have a high risk of contaminating Indonesian maritime areas.
As a result of the rampant shipping activities that pass through the Indonesian marine waters is the contamination of waste oil.
Research proves that the main marine pollution is the result of waste oil. The rest occurred due to industrial activities and shipping activities, as well as many accidents that occurred on tankers.
Combating Oil Pollution in the Sea
To overcome these problems, in the world, and especially in Indonesia, research has been carried out by LIPI and the Japanese Research Center.
The development of this research was motivated by the awareness of the emergence of oil pollution. Which could have been caused by a tanker accident due to heavy international shipping traffic passing through the sea lanes of Indonesia, the Straits of Malacca, Sunda, and also Lombok.
In this research, LIPI covers the sources of knowledge of biotechnology, biology, and oceanography, and provides research staff, biological resources, as well as laboratory facilities, in collaboration with the Institute of Technology and Evaluation from Japan (NITE) which provides funding, in order to empower microorganisms that play a role. break down the oil in the sea.
Oil in the ocean which is the main source of marine pollutants can actually be neutralized through the natural mechanisms of the ocean by certain types of microbes in the sea.
These microbes are able to chew the oil and reduce and even eliminate the adverse effects on polluted areas. Therefore, the empowerment of these microbes is necessary to reduce sea water pollution, especially that caused by oil.
The starting point for the development of this research is the desire to know how to reduce pollutants contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbon waste by using certain microorganisms to restore environmental conditions to their original state.
This is also known as bioremediation. Through bioremediation, hazardous chemical compounds can be minimized by converting contaminants into less harmful compounds such as organic compounds, carbon dioxide, water, and several other gases required for microbial degradation.
Bioremediation Techniques
Bioremediation techniques and methods consist of two methods, namely bioaugmentation and biostimulation. Biostimulation is a special effort made to stimulate the environment and the micro-organisms of its inhabitants.
Generally, the environment and microorganisms are stimulated by improving the conditions of the living environment or changing the habitat of microorganisms in order to function properly.
Stimulation of microorganisms is done by adding substances that can accelerate the development of microorganisms, one of which is by adding nutrients.
Meanwhile, bioaugmentation is the process of adding or multiplying microorganisms with the introduction of new types of microorganisms that are naturally good or have passed the trait improvement test.
In this technique, microorganisms that function as decomposers are added. The purpose of these additions is to increase the completeness of the existing microorganism population.
Both techniques are equally good and equally useful in the process of breaking down bad bacteria caused by polluted waste oil, especially due to the hydrocarbon content contained in it.
If the augmentation is done by spreading microorganisms in the oil pollution area, stimulation is also needed as a mineral fertilizer to grow microbes so that the polluted oil becomes an environmentally friendly compound.
To perform stimulation or augmentation there are things that need to be considered, for example criteria regarding the ability of microbes, the amount of oxygen used in the metabolic process, temperature and pH that have been adjusted to the ability to accept microorganisms, to the adequacy of the addition of nutrients.
Microorganisms Capable of Decomposing Oil in the Sea
In decomposing waste oil, most of which consists of harmful hydrocarbons, certain microorganisms have been shown to break down oil so that it turns it into carbon whose source is derived from the hydrocarbons themselves and actively produces biosurfactants, which is a type of enzyme that is able to unite oil. and water.
This biosurfactant is used to break down the oil. Microorganisms that work to break down oil in the sea have their own roles and abilities.
Certain species, such as Pseudomonas, Oceanobacter, and Spingobium, have a high and significant ability to degrade oil in the sea. What you need to know is that crude oil consists of four compounds.
The top units are paraffins (saturates) and aromatics (hydrocarbon content) which have gone through research with the type of microorganism that plays a role in decomposing oil in the sea, named Alcanivorax borkumensis.
The type of oil must also be distinguished carefully, the oil that has a tendency to be polluted consists of light oil and heavy oil. Light oil such as diesel will spread more quickly if it is spilled into the sea, after which this type of oil will be more volatile.
Another type of oil is oil with a type of heavy content. This oil is often a problem for waste oil that occurs in the sea.
Due to its heavier content, this type of oil becomes very difficult and takes a long time to decompose by bacteria. In addition, this layer will form a thick and sticky layer so that it tends to settle on the sea surface or be rolled up with the waves towards the sea surface or the beach.
The danger is if it turns out that the oil has been polluted or contaminated, the resulting effects can be very dangerous.
The process of releasing microorganisms to oil pollution sites like this (bioremediation) has advantages from various sides because it is able to take full advantage of science. Namely prevention of the spread of harmful bacteria due to contamination of contaminated oil.
The efforts made can be more optimal because the process carried out is natural, namely by changing the total pollutant, not just moving the compound.
For larger sizes, it will tend to be more environmentally friendly and very safe, and use handling costs at a relatively low price. Because microorganisms naturally already exist in the sea.
The most important thing is its ability to remove harmful substances contained in polluted oil so that in addition to creating long-term health protection that can be created in the community, it also reduces the possibility of field workers being contaminated or infected with diseases.
Therefore, as humans who inhabit the earth and enjoy all the produce of the earth in it, it is very important for us to always preserve the ecosystem. Microorganisms that play a role in decomposing oil in the sea can also be of great function for subsequent human life in a relatively long period of time.