Domestication of an Indigenous Bacterial Consortium to Remove Hydrocarbons from Soils of the Austral Basin

A non-contaminated soil from the Austral basin, Santa Cruz province, Argentina, was treated with a nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium solution in a 100: 1: 0.1 proportion and 3% crude oil to assess the ability of an indigenous bacterial consortium to grow using crude oil as a source of energy. The bacterial consortium degraded a maximum of 79.31% of crude oil, and this maximum degradation was achieved after the 80th day of treatment. n-Alkanes in the range of nC8-nC10 were degraded completely, followed by nC10-nC12, nC13-nC28 and nC29-nC32, with degradation percentages of 90.78%, 71.48% and 76.02% respectively.