Bioremediation of Kerosene Contaminated Soil with the Addition of Bacillus cereus Bacteria

Abstract

The development of road development in Indonesia is directly proportional to the needs of human transportation, among the many types of road pavements, the use of asphalt as a road pavement material is the main choice. Buton asphalt (Asbuton) is a mixture of asphalt with other mineral materials in the form of rocks. To obtain pure asbuton it is necessary to carry out extraction. Kerosene is widely used as a solvent in the manufacture of asphalt. It causes environmental pollution and leads to loss of ecological function and health problems. One environmentally friendly, economical, and effective method to overcome oil pollution is to use bioremediation technology. Bacillus cereus bacteria are believed to be able to reduce oil levels in the soil because Bacillus cereus is classified as a hydrocarbonclastic bacterium, besides that Bacillus cereus is also able to produce enzymes that can hydrolyze complex proteins and polysaccharides and form endospores. In this study, the soil samples used were spiked soil with a polluting source in the form of kerosene with a concentration of 10% (w / w). Variables in this study include variations in the addition of bacterial inoculum and variations in nutrient addition. The study was conducted on a laboratory scale for 15 days. The analysis used in this study is Total Petroleoum Hydrocarbon (TPH) with gravimetric method to determine the oil content contained in waste, and Total Plate Count (TPC) to determine the number of bacterial colonies, temperature, pH, and water content. The results showed the best rate of reduction in kerosene concentration with the addition of 10% inoculum concentration and with the addition of nutrients. Bacillus cereus was able to reduce kerosene levels up to 67,499 mg / kg with a degradation rate of 26.58%.