Not all hydrocarbons are created equal. When burned, petroleum in particular produces large amounts of soot, aka black smoke, and anything burned at high temperature in the atmosphere produces nitrogen oxides. Bacteria does none of the above.TubbaBlubba said:Wouldn't this be akin to setting the stuff on fire, anyway? The oil-eating bacteria would almost certainly oxidize the hydrocarbons into CO2, in which case you might as well, you know, burn it.
I take your point. Given the scale of O2 in the ocean, does it really stand to be depleted by bacteria at scale consuming the oil leaked (and not already captured or removed) over the surface of the Gulf of Mexico? Also I'm not sure if I'd call the products of the combustion of all that oil a cosmetic effect.nismaratwork said:Yes, but it is that CO2 and the oxidizing process that... wait for it... causes hypoxic regions in oceans. In fact, naturally occurring bacteria in the ocean may help the cleanup, while killing large regions much as they might render a human host dead. There needs to be a balanced approach, not just a cosmetic one.
mheslep said:I take your point. Given the scale of O2 in the ocean, does it really stand to be depleted by bacteria at scale consuming the oil leaked (and not already captured or removed) over the surface of the Gulf of Mexico? Also I'm not sure if I'd call the products of the combustion of all that oil a cosmetic effect.
mheslep said:I take your point. Given the scale of O2 in the ocean, does it really stand to be depleted by bacteria at scale consuming the oil leaked (and not already captured or removed) over the surface of the Gulf of Mexico? Also I'm not sure if I'd call the products of the combustion of all that oil a cosmetic effect.
No doubt, but I wonder if the size of this petroleum spill coming from one pipe compares in size with the forever ongoing effluent of the Mississippi river?Ygggdrasil said:I'm not an expert in the area, but it seems reasonable to worry about oil-eating bacteria creating hypoxic zones in the ocean. Nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from the Mississippi delta is enough to create a hypoxic zone at the Mississippi delta (http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/deadzone/)
mheslep said:No doubt, but I wonder if the size of this petroleum spill coming from one pipe compares in size with the forever ongoing effluent of the Mississippi river?
socean said:How about oil eating bacteria that are attached to a substrate that absorbs output of metabolic reactions? Substrate would also serve to "bind" oil into floating jelly that can be more easily collected.
The Gulf spill, also known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, was a large-scale environmental disaster that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. It was caused by an explosion on an offshore drilling rig, resulting in the release of millions of barrels of oil into the ocean.
Bioengineered life refers to organisms that have been genetically modified or engineered by scientists for a specific purpose, such as producing a desired trait or performing a particular function. In the context of the Gulf spill, bioengineered life refers to bacteria that have been genetically modified to consume oil and aid in the cleanup of the spill.
Oil-eating bacteria, also known as hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, have the ability to break down and consume oil as a food source. These bacteria have enzymes that can break down the chemical compounds in oil, converting them into less harmful substances. This helps to naturally clean up oil spills in the environment.
Oil-eating bacteria are generally considered safe for the environment. They occur naturally in the ocean and have been found to help clean up oil spills without causing harm to other organisms. However, introducing large amounts of bioengineered bacteria into the environment may have unforeseen consequences, so caution should be taken when using them for oil spill cleanup.
No, oil-eating bacteria alone cannot completely clean up an oil spill. They can help to break down and reduce the amount of oil in the environment, but other methods such as mechanical cleanup and chemical dispersants are also needed. Additionally, the effectiveness of oil-eating bacteria can be affected by environmental conditions such as temperature and nutrient availability.