A study conducted within the Istanbul University (IU) Istanbul Technopark (ENTERTECH) is using marine bacteria to clean petroleum-contaminated soils.
The project was initiated by Prof. Dr. Gülşen Altuğ, a faculty member at IU's Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Department of Marine Biology, along with her team, to clean oil-contaminated soils using marine bacteria.
As part of the project, marine bacteria were collected from Turkish seas beginning in 2000 using IU's research vessel "R/V Yunus-S."
Following extensive research, bacteria that consume petroleum as a food source were selected from among the collected samples.
As a result, petroleum-contaminated soils were successfully cleaned using these marine bacteria.
The method was also successfully applied under a United Nations (UN) project to clean highly saline soils formed when oil wells were extinguished with seawater during the Gulf War.
Prof. Dr. Gülşen Altuğ stated that they have been producing foundational data for the industrial use of marine bacteria for many years.
She noted that they had scanned thousands of bacteria to identify those resistant to petroleum and capable of consuming it as a food source.
The most effective strains were selected and tested both individually and in combination for their ability to remove petroleum contamination.
Altuğ emphasized that conventional physical, chemical, and mechanical methods used globally to clean petroleum contamination pose ecological concerns and have limited effectiveness. She stressed that biological remediation is the method of the future and is increasingly becoming a requirement in international projects.
Highlighting the need for nature-mimicking, eco-friendly biological methods, she said:
"If we want to clean up an area contaminated by tons of oil without harming the environment, solutions like this are indispensable."
She added that their patented method was transformed into a local product through IU's Technology Transfer Office and Technopark:
"Our product, developed within Istanbul University's Faculty of Aquatic Sciences and Istanbul Technopark, is environmentally friendly and globally competitive."
Prof. Dr. Altuğ pointed out that the bacteria developed are not limited to marine environments and were also used in a UN project in Kuwait to clean highly saline soils contaminated during the Gulf War.
Using these marine bacteria, the team plans to clean 3.5 million cubic meters of soil. Preliminary testing was conducted in Istanbul Technopark's labs, and field applications were formulated accordingly.
Altuğ emphasized that each contaminated area requires a specific "biological prescription":
"Because each soil structure and petroleum contamination is unique, we developed custom prescriptions detailing the right bacteria combinations, application amounts, and treatment durations for each site."
She also explained that marine bacteria are highly tolerant of environmental changes and better adapted to fluctuations in pH, salinity, and temperature due to the dynamic conditions of the sea.
Discussing the success rate of field trials, Altuğ noted:
"By day 17, under suitable conditions, we observed up to 90% petroleum removal. Of course, this rate may be higher in laboratory conditions, but proving this success in the field is what truly matters."
She stated that the metabolic characteristics of bacteria isolated from different marine habitats in Türkiye were thoroughly screened, and once proven effective, the bacteria were sent in liquid form to be used at target sites.
Prof. Dr. Altuğ concluded by emphasizing the uniqueness and regional adaptability of the bacteria they developed:
"Even the same bacterial species can exhibit different characteristics in different geographies. The bacteria we developed are uniquely adapted to this region, which is why the methodology we created has been patented."
