19 November 2009
MUSCAT -- A presentation on the biological clean-up of oil-contaminated soil and water in Oman held recently at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) was a huge success. Traditionally, chemicals or heat treatment is used to decontaminate oil spills in sand and water. During his presentation, Dr Heiko Patzelt, Technical Director of Mazoon Environmental Services LLC, showed different biological methods of crisis intervention for oil spills in the Sultanate.
"In one litre of water there are millions of living micro-organisms which can act as a kind of self-cleaners. The microbes are very productive when they live from hydrocarbons," said Patzelt. In Fahud, he and his colleagues made a pilot landfarm where they irrigated oil-polluted soil, divided in seven identical beds, with water of different quality. According to Patzelt, within 18 weeks the oil and gas concentration was reduced from five to below one per cent when the right type of water was supplied.
"Older land farm operations used to take up to two years to obtain the same result. Water is necessary for every biological reaction, and for the best microbial growth in the desert, choose salty water. This is even much cheaper than good drinking water," stressed Patzelt. Another biological clean-up was done near Safah oil field.
"We made an artificial lake of 60 by 60 metres with one metre depth in a heavily oil-polluted area. We then added our special microbes and observed the temperature and salinity of the water. After some time the salinity came up and after one year the hydrocarbons had disappeared. The bacteria had simply eaten them," said Patzelt and stressed that although accident prevention should have the highest priority, different methods for biological clean-ups of oil spills have to be ready to use for crisis intervention if necessary.
MUSCAT -- A presentation on the biological clean-up of oil-contaminated soil and water in Oman held recently at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) was a huge success. Traditionally, chemicals or heat treatment is used to decontaminate oil spills in sand and water. During his presentation, Dr Heiko Patzelt, Technical Director of Mazoon Environmental Services LLC, showed different biological methods of crisis intervention for oil spills in the Sultanate.
"In one litre of water there are millions of living micro-organisms which can act as a kind of self-cleaners. The microbes are very productive when they live from hydrocarbons," said Patzelt. In Fahud, he and his colleagues made a pilot landfarm where they irrigated oil-polluted soil, divided in seven identical beds, with water of different quality. According to Patzelt, within 18 weeks the oil and gas concentration was reduced from five to below one per cent when the right type of water was supplied.
"Older land farm operations used to take up to two years to obtain the same result. Water is necessary for every biological reaction, and for the best microbial growth in the desert, choose salty water. This is even much cheaper than good drinking water," stressed Patzelt. Another biological clean-up was done near Safah oil field.
"We made an artificial lake of 60 by 60 metres with one metre depth in a heavily oil-polluted area. We then added our special microbes and observed the temperature and salinity of the water. After some time the salinity came up and after one year the hydrocarbons had disappeared. The bacteria had simply eaten them," said Patzelt and stressed that although accident prevention should have the highest priority, different methods for biological clean-ups of oil spills have to be ready to use for crisis intervention if necessary.
By Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2009
