A Novel Hydroxyapatite Carrier for Enrichment of Hydrocarbon Degradation Bacteria

In this paper, a novel and highly efficient hydroxyapatite (HA) carrier for cultivating hydrocarbon degradation bacteria (HDB) is introduced. The HA particles synthesized through a sol-gel method and different heat treatments were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and BET method. The microbial amount and activities of HDB cultivated on HA carriers were quantitatively investigated in order to assess their enriching capabilities. The results showed that HA synthesized at 550°C and the one without calcination could enrich HDB 3 and 2 magnitude orders more than the activated carbon, respectively. Mechanisms of bacterial enrichment on HA and activated carbon were also studied, and it is believed that the high bioactivity and the surface morphology of HA were responsible for the efficient reproduction of HDB. It is concluded that HA is a potential candidate to replace the conventionally used activated carbon as a novel carrier applied in the filed of bioremediation for oil contaminated soil.