Case Study: Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Spill
Laboratory Screening of Commercial Bioremediation Agents
Submitted To: David Tsao, Ph.D, BioChem Strike Team Leader
Deepwater Horizon, Remediation Engineering and Technology Specialist, BP Remediation Management
Submitted By:
- Ralph J. Portier, Ph.D. Professor of Environmental Sciences, Dept. of Environmental Sciences
- Laura M. Basirico, MS. Research Associate 3, Dept. of Environmental Sciences, Louisiana State University
Original Date of Case Study:
Product D: (Product D is The Oppenheimer Formula I)
Product D is classified as viable, adapted petroleum hydrocarbon microbes and nutrient amendment. The product was provided as a dry powder of “biomass” and a proprietary nutrient blend. Both components were reconstituted in site water prior to addition to flasks containing site water and weathered oil.
After 28 days: A 95.3% reduction in alkanes and a 68.9% reduction in PAHs were seen.
After 12 weeks: The end of the test study saw nearly complete reduction of alkanes as 99.9% of the alkane constituents were degraded and 98.5% of the PAHs were degraded. In total, approximately 99.8% of the weathered crude oil, both alkane and PAH constituents, were degraded by Product D by the end of 12 weeks.