Petroleum is a complex mixture composed primarily of aliphatics, alicyclics and aromatic hydrocarbons. This study was to evaluate the potentials of native bacterial population of wastewater environment with the ability for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon polluted natural environment. A fresh water ecosystem west of Lagos state university, Ojo campus that has the history of being fed with both domestic wastewater and spent diesel oil served as source of bacterial samples. Serial dilution technique and total heterotrophic bacterial count for the wastewater was evaluated. The Bonny light crude oil was exposed to the wastewater canal through sterile oil-impregnated filter discs (Type HA diameter) supplemented with dried maize cob housed in perforated plastic balls for 30 days. The physicochemical properties of the freshwater habitat were determined prior to the introduction of oil-impregnated filter discs. | Petroleum hydrocarbon degraders from wastewater canal supplemented with dry maize cob as organic carbon source
