Nyashadzashe P. Masvingwe
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Title: Bacterial Biotransformation of Kerosene based Industrial Rolling Oils Tracked via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Biography
Biography: Nyashadzashe P. Masvingwe
Abstract
The aluminum and steel industry makes use of hydrocarbon rolling oils which are termed ‘spent oils’ after use. Hazardous waste management companies remove the spent oils, which eventually end up being dumped at local hazardous material dump sites. The lack of an environmentally friendly strategy to reduce hazardous waste from factories was the incentive for this research. The aim was to determine and monitor an indigenous Achromobacter aegrifaciens bacterial biotransformation/ biodegradation of Kerosene based rolling oils including the additives: methyl laurate, lauric acid, and Shellsol D100. This was done via dehydrogenase assays and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Achromobacter aegrifaciens bacterial biotransformation was also compared to that of an exogenous consortium of Lysinibacillus fusiformis and Pseudomonas synaxantha. Results were analyzed statistically, using SPSS version 24. The mean differences were significant at the 0.05 level for both the Dehydrogenase assay and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Further, subterminal oxidation was determined to be the main activation mechanism for the biotransformation. Methylation occurred during rolling oil biotransformation but was more prevalent in biotransformations of the additives, especially methyl laurate. Methylation resulted in less efficient biotransformations compared to subterminal oxidation. This bioremediation strategy can now be further established for larger volume bioreactors as we established that the toxic monoaromatic compounds were successfully degraded at the end of five weeks making this bioremediation strategy a viable alternative to the current dumping by waste companies.