BIODEGRADATION OF USED ENGINE OIL USING PSEUDOMONAS PUTIDA AND AZOTOBACTER CHROCOOCUM AS BIOSURFACTANT

Present situation of the environment depicts an imperative need to treat our natural resources which have been become the garbage bins of our technology. By making use of crude oil extracted from the earth, numerous fuels, gases are obtained of which Engine oil is one component. While this oil is utilized the carbon soot particles get accumulated changing the oil property and making it unfit for use. This used engine oi l is drained frequently and is either recycled or disposed in a manner harmful to the environment. Biodegradation is a cost effective, eco - friendly method to follow while dealing with such recalcitrant compounds. Azotobacter chrocoocum is selected for this study as it has an ability to assist in biodegradation due to its ability to produce natural biosurfactant. Pseudomonas putida is selected to study its individual biodegradation effect and in the form of a consortium. The degradation was studied before an d after optimization, with the post optimization results being 1.97 folds higher than the prior results. Individually A. chrocoocum has shown degradation of 25.6% and P. putida 47.515% and the maximum degradation was seen in the mixture of A. chrocoocum an d P. putida which degraded to an extent of 73.7%.