Microfluidic studies of morphological changes of crude oil microdroplets exposed to different bacteria species and consortia under different flow velocities

Utilizing biodegradation for marine oil spill cleanup has gained a significant amount of attention. A deeper understanding of the oil consumption ability of different bacteria species in addition to bacteria consortia, as well as the effect of hydrodynamics on this process and oil degradation is essential. In our previous studies we determine the effectiveness of the size of the oil microdroplets on the bacteria-oil interaction and biodegradation. Additional experiments were conducted to explore the interaction of different bacteria species on stationary oil microdroplets versus microbial interaction of oil degrading consortia containing six different bacteria species. The experiments were done in a non-flow condition and various flow shears. To attain the results, we developed a micro-bioassay containing an enclosed chamber with bottom substrate printed with stationary oil microdroplets and a digital holographic interferometer (DHI). The experimental results showed the size dependence of droplets subject to biodegradation. Experiments involving bacteria isolates displayed that different bacteria species have varied appetite for oil and it is independent of motility. The experiments of consortia and various flow shears on biodegradation will be reported in details.