Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello! I am a sophomore,going into my second year of Science Research.

While I was searching for a project idea, I was fascinated by the concept of bioremediation, and I am planning to do a project on it. As you might already know, bioremediation is a process by which organisms are used to rid a certain contaminant, such as oil or harmful metals. Nitrate can be used as a fertilizer to stimulate microbial activity by acting as an electron acceptor.

I plan to find out the optimal concentration of nitrate fertilizer on Pseudomonas putida on removal of hydrocarbon(oil). But in order to assess the amount of hydrocarbon left, my experiment requires a machine to analyze the water sample. One of the methods I have researched is the Varian Gas Chromatography Flame Ionization Detector (TEPH fingerprinting method).
Can anybody help me out? I am aware that the prices for water testing are pretty expensive. I am planning to email universities and water labs nearby. What can I do if none of them are able to help me?

If you could give me some feedback on my experiment idea, that would be great. How can I improve my procedure?

Thank you for all the help!!

Hi,

This is a great idea but not an easy project to accomplish in a limited time with limited resources. I have a lot of questions about the details of your experiments. As I understand from your description you plan to stimulate the growth of P. putida using a nitrate fertilizer to see how well this improves its efficiency in breaking down oil pollution for bioremediation. Is that correct?

I found this reference to using natural P. putida stimulated with nitrate fertilizer for bioremediation: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 0599000487
Is this basically what you had in mind to do?

What kind of oil were you planning on using? Petroleum? Diesel? Does the bacteria completely metabolize the oil or just convert it into something else? A gas chromatograph would be the best way to quantitatively measure changes in the oil, but you might be able to simply see a change visually in the amount of oil remaining.

Gas chromatographs are common instruments in university chemistry labs so try to find a grad student or professor willing to let you use their equipment under supervision. Before you approach anyone, however, make sure you have worked out all the details of how you will do the experiments and thoroughly researched the literature so you are an expert on P. putida bioremediation. In order to find a lab to work in you need to convince a professor that you have a good project and that you know what you are doing so you can accomplish it in a specific length of time.

Get back to us with more questions and we will try to steer your project into the fast lane.

Good luck!

Sybee