Bioremediation of marine oil spills

In the long run, biodegradation is the eventual fate of oil spilled at sea that cannot be collected or burnt. Stimulating this biodegradation is thus an important option for maximizing the removal of oil from the environment, and minimizing the environmental impact of a spill. For handling oil while it is still floating on the sea surface, dispersants are advantageous because they maximize the surface area available for microbial attack, and stimulate biodegradation. If oil beaches on a shoreline, it is likely that biodegradation is limited by nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and the careful application of fertilizers stimulates the biodegradation of residual beached oil. These approaches epitomize modern environmental technologies; working with natural phenomena to achieve a more rapid clean-up while minimizing undesirable environmental impacts.