Use of Taguchi design for optimization of diesel-oil biodegradation using consortium of Pseudomonas stutzeri , Cellulosimicrobium cellulans , Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas balearica isolated from tarball in Terengganu Beach, Malaysia.

A consortium of bacteria capable of decomposing oily hydrocarbons was isolated from tarballs on the beaches of Terengganu, Malaysia, and classified as Pseudomonas stutzeri , Cellulosimicrobium cellulans , Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas balearica . The Taguchi design was used to optimize the biodegradation of diesel using these bacteria as a consortium. The highest biodegradation of diesel-oil in the experimental tests was 93.6%, and the individual n-alkanes decomposed 87.6-97.6% over 30 days. Optimal settings were inoculum size of 2.5 mL (1.248 OD _600nm ); 12% (v/v) the initial diesel-oil in a minimal salt medium of pH 7.0, 30.0 gL ^-1 NaCl and 2.0 gL ^-1 NH ₄ NO ₃ concentration, incubated at 42 °C temperature and 150 rpm agitation speed. Parameters significantly improved diesel-oil removal by consortium as shown by the model determination coefficient (R ²  = 90.89%; P  < 0.001) with a synergistic effect of agitation speed significantly contributing 81.03%. Taguchi design determined the optimal settings for the parameters under study, which significantly improved diesel-oil removal by consortium. This can be used to design a novel bioremediation strategy that can achieve optimal decontamination of oil pollution in a shorter time.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40201-022-00812-3.
Competing Interests: Competing interestsWe wish to confirm that there are no known competing interests associated with this publication. We would like to draw the attention of the Editor to the following publication of one or more of us that refer to aspects of the manuscript presently being submitted: Isolation, identification and diesel-oil biodegradation capacities of indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading strains of Cellulosimicrobium cellulans and Acinetobacter baumannii from tarball at Terengganu beach, Malaysia: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.03.060
(© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2022.)