Oil Spills: Solutions Through Bioremediation

Some microorganisms living in the ocean have specialized metabolic pathways that enable them to use oil as food and convert it into energy. These microbes, for example bacteria and fungi, break down the long-chain hydrocarbons of petroleum and chemically convert them into energy and nutrients for their own biological process. As a result, they also transform the complex structures of oil into simpler, nontoxic by-products.

Scientists recognize great potential in utilizing the oil-degrading properiest of microbes to expedite the breakdown of harmful oil from spills.

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