Who will eat the spilled oil
Vasilisa Babitskaya, "Snob"
Andrey Shestakov, a microbiologist from Moscow State University, has created a drug that will rid the world ocean of oil pollution.
Photo: Naukatv.ru
– What is your invention?
– We at the laboratory of microbial biotechnology of Moscow State University have developed a tool that will eliminate oil pollution in salt water at subzero temperatures. This is a granule – preserved bacteria that are in a state of suspended animation, that is, "sleeping" inside the shell. The bacteria sleep until they end up in an oil slick. As soon as the pellet has reached the oil spill, its shell dissolves, and the bacteria wake up, begin to actively eat oil and multiply.
There is an interesting nuance. A pellet behaves on water in the same way as an oil slick. It took us a long time to find the right density and buoyancy. When our ball is in the water, it is enough for it to set the right direction, and it swims to the oil spill: if the spot moves to the shore, then the granules with bacteria will be there as well.
– Why did you rely on bacteria to fight the spilled oil?
– Bacteria are the most common living creatures on the planet. And they don't have enough food. Therefore, when they come into contact with something, they try to evolve as quickly as possible in order to start eating what is available to them, and thanks to very active division, they evolve very quickly. In addition, hydrocarbons for microbes are already familiar food.
– How did you come up with the idea to create pellets in which bacteria will eat oil?
– I was on the jury at the Universiade 5 years ago. At the end, the representative of the oil company made an inspiring speech that the Arctic region would be actively developing and it would be nice if scientists took care of its environmental and biological safety, would take over the work of disposing of potential pollutants, and he then also mentioned microbes that eat garbage. I turned to my wife and said with a laugh that I would look at the person who would take up the implementation of this crazy idea: after all, it is almost impossible to make a bacterium work quickly at subzero temperatures. But 5 years have passed – and you see the result. In general, I saw a request from the business side and began to study what developments there are on this topic.
– And what was the business request related to then? Why was this task set at all?
– Surprisingly, most of the oil products in the ocean are not due to large sensational spills, but because of the so-called chronic pollution. For example, some steamer was refueling. And when the equipment is docked, a bucket of fuel is poured out – 20 liters. No one will do anything with these 20 liters. This is not an emergency. There is a whole protocol for serious spills: oil companies take great care of this, because the whole world learns about accidental pollution, but in fact they occur very rarely, and the actual harm from them is very small compared to chronic pollution. In the case of large spills, microbiological preparations are used at the very end – this is more cost-effective.
– Why was it necessary to create technology specifically for such a temperature regime?
– The most important danger is the Northern Sea Route, a real transport artery. Traffic on it is growing very actively. Everyone is now striving there because the climate is changing and the ice is melting, and soon an incredible number of ships will pass along the Northern Sea Route. So after such a technogenic development of the region, we are threatened with serious consequences.
– What kind of selection did the bacteria undergo? How did you understand that they would be able to cope with oil spills?
– What we just did with them. Due to the fact that no one had ever thought of working with a minus before, we had to put the equipment (shaker) in the freezer at our own risk to reach the desired temperature of -3.5 degrees. The water, by the way, did not freeze, because we conducted experiments on seawater. Those bacteria that passed the tests were sent to natural conditions for experiments: after all, even if they cope with oil in the laboratory, then in the natural environment they can be eaten faster than they will eat oil. Then we dried them – they don't like that very much either, then we put them in a closed space – a pellet. Poor people!
– How long did it take you to develop this drug and when is the industrial release planned?
– The first stage – to find and assemble a unique collection of microorganisms – took us one and a half to two years. Another year and a half passed before we created the pellet. The last part of the work remains – the stage of regulatory documentation and industrial production. Again, in one and a half to two years we will have bags of ready-made drugs that can be legally used in nature. The equator is passed, there is very little left.
– And what happens to microorganisms after they have eaten all the oil?
– While bacteria eat oil, they multiply – that's why our pellets will need a little to eliminate oil stains. And after they eat all the oil, they will be eaten by other microorganisms and marine animals.
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