Bioremediation of petroleum refinery effluent by Planococcus halophilus

In the present investigation, Planococcus halophilus was screened for hydrocarbon degradation and bioremediation of refinery effluent. The test organism, P. halophilus, showed the capability to utilize kerosene as carbon source in minimal medium. Biological treatment of the refinery effluent with P. halophilus reduced the oil and grease and sulphide content to about 91.2 and 28%, respectively, on the 4th day of the incubation. The present work defined that the test organism P. halophilus can be exploited for bioremediation of sites contaminated with hydrocarbons and industrial effluents polluted with hydrocarbons even under adverse conditions.