Successful bioremediation of fuel-polluted seashore sand: a case study

What is it about?

This study looked at how bioremediation—a process that uses microorganisms to break down pollutants—can clean up coastal sand contaminated with fuel. Over 106 days, the amount of petroleum hydrocarbons in the sand dropped dramatically, from 5,753 mg/kg to just 37 mg/kg, a reduction of about 98.21%. This final level is well below the safe limit of 100 mg/kg set by Israel’s environmental authorities, showing that the cleanup was successful. Most of the pollution was removed within the first 48 days, emphasizing the importance of good conditions, like proper aeration, to support microbial activity early on. These findings suggest that bioremediation is an effective way to restore polluted coastal areas and could be used more widely to reduce oil pollution in marine environments.

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