Biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in soil inoculated with yeasts

Yeast species belonging to the Candida genus were added to the greyish-brown soil of the Apsheron Peninsula under laboratory conditions. The rate of CO2 production was used to estimate the degradation of crude oil, paraffin, cycloparaffin and aromatic hydrocarbons as well as their oxidized products. The rate of hydrocarbon degradation in the soil inoculated with yeast cells was shown to drop down gradually. The effective action on the process of hydrocarbon degradation depended on the special properties of an inoculated population and on the structure of a hydrocarbon. Some yeast species stimulated the degradation of various aromatic hydrocarbons and their oxidized products. Aromatic hydrocarbons were decomposed at a lower rate comparing to their oxidized products. When the soil was inoculated with C. guilliermondii populations, n-hexadecane added to the soil at a concentration of 1% was decomposed within 250-300 days. Field experiments confirmed that crude oil biodegradation was more intensive in the soil inoculated with yeast cells.