The Behavior of Oil Pollution Composition in Permafrost Soils Affected by Diesel Spill

The article presents an experimental study of oil pollution composition during biological treatment of permafrost soils contaminated with diesel fuel. The experiment was conducted at an oil depot with the use of a biological product based on indigenous hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms isolated from permafrost soils. To characterize the composition of oil pollution and its changes, and to assess the transformation of petroleum hydrocarbons, informative analytical indicators obtained by physical and analytical methods were used. It was revealed that the change in the initial composition of oil pollution depends on biochemical processes of hydrocarbons destruction along with the processes of oil hydrocarbons evaporation. After 2.5-month bioremediation, involving the incubation of the biological product, the composition of pollution changed: the share of resinous-asphaltene components increased, whereas the concentration of hydrocarbons and residual oil decreased. The share of oxygen-containing groups and bonds in the chemical structure increased significantly. Redistribution within both homologous series and between different series of homologues was established in the composition of alkane hydrocarbons. The obtained results indicate changes in the pollution composition during soil purification due to biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons.