Growth profile of Penicillium chermesinum Biourge in function of total petroleum hydrocarbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) compounds in oily sludge

Oily sludge is categorized as one of the hazardous wastes that needs to be remediated in order to convert it into a non-toxic compound. Bioremediation involves microorganisms, such as fungi. In the present study, the indigenous oily sludge fungi, Penicillium chermesinum was used to assess the bioremediation. The aim of this study was to obtain the growth profile of Penicillium chermesinum Biourge in reducing the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) compounds in oily sludge. A descriptive method was applied in this study that consists of the preparation stage and the biodegradation stage of oily sludge. Biodegradation process was performed by using the Solid State Fermentation methods during 15 days with the addition of 10% of fungi inoculum from the total of fermentation medium (100 g). The observed parameters are the TPH, PAH content, and fungi growth profile that were measured using the Gravimetric, GC/MS and TPC analysis. Our results showed that the TPH content was reduced 29.16% from the control. We identified two degraded PAH compounds, namely Azulene (C10) and Fluoranthene (C16).