First Degree : BSc (Microbiology), USM (2007)
Education level : MSc.
Register date : Dec 2009
Research title : Application of Microbial Consortia to Degrade Hydrocarbon in Soil
Supervisor : Prof. Datin Dr. Ainon Hamzah
Co-Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Sukiman Sarmani

Research synopsis :
Degradation of crude oil in the soil by indigenous microorganism can naturally occur. Studies have shown that the degradation rate to be slow and time consuming due to the low microbial population or lack of nutrient. However, the degradation process can be enhanced through either biostimulation or bioaugmentation, which increases the crude oil degradation rate. In biostimulation, nutrient was added to stimulate the growth of microbes in the soil. In bioaugmentation, microbial cultures with degradative capabilities were added to accelerate the degradation process. The aim of this study is to enhance the crude oil degradation in soil by bioaugmentation using mono-, and co-culture of isolate Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acenitobacter baumanii and Trichoderma virens, reported in our previous study to be potentially good to degrade crude oil. We hypothesized the synergistic relationship within the microbial consortia can confer a wider spectrum of metabolic activities to enhance crude oil biodegradation. It is postulated that bacterial consortia initiate the hydrocarbon degradation but the fungi consortia further mineralized the partially degraded hydrocarbon to completion. The second aim of this study is to use fertilizer, mineral salt medium and organic bulking agent such as oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and sugarcane baggase as nutrient supplement to improve soil conditions, growth and activities of microbial consortia that will lead to enhance crude oil degradation.

Publication:
Siti Nursyazana Md Salleh, Ainon Hamzah & Sukiman Sarmani. 2010. Penggunaan konsortia bakteria dan kulat bagi merawat tanah tercemar hidrokarbon. Kolokium ke-10, Fakulti Sains dan Teknologi, UKM.
Ainon Hamzah & Siti Nursyazana Md Salleh. 2010. Biostimulation of Microbial Consortia in Degrading Crude Oil in Soil. Proceeding of 11th Symposium of The Malaysian Society of Applied Biology 2010, Kelantan. 13-15 June.
Siti Nursyazana M.S., Ainon, H. & Sukiman, S. 2011. Effect Of Inoculum Size Of Microbial Consortium In Degrading Various Concentrations Of Tapis Crude Oil In Soil. Proceeding of International Conference of Malaysia Society of Microbiology. Hotel Bayview Penang. pp 329-333.
Ainon, H., Siti Nursyazana, M.S. & Sukiman, S. 2011. Bioaugmentation of Microbial Consortia and Supplementation of Bulking Agents in Removal of Crude Oil from Soil. Proceeding of International Conference on Environmental, Industrial and Applied Microbiology, Biomicroworld. Malaga, Spain.