MICROBIAL-CONTAMINATION OF KEROSENE, GASOLINE AND CRUDE-OIL AND THEIR SPOILAGE POTENTIALS

The presence of viable petroleum-degrading bacteria has been demonstrated in Bonny light crude oil, kerosene and gasoline. These organisms are more abundant in the crude oil (ca. 2.93 x 10(5)cfu/ml) than in kerosene (ca. 3.22 x 10(4)cfu/ml) and gasoline (ca. 2.96 x 10(4)cfu/ml). The bacteria isolated included members of the following genera: Acinetobacter, Actinomyces, Aeromonas, Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas and Vibrio. Results from measurements of pH, turbidity and total viable counts of the cultures growing with kerosene as sole source of carbon and energy indicated that a pure culture of Bacillus sp. K9 utilized kerosene better than a mixed culture comprising Bacillus sp. C4, Bacillus sp. KS and Flavobacterium sp. C11. Actual degradation of kerosene was demonstrated by gas chromatography.