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Bioremediation Of Hydrocarbons Via Geobacillus, Amanda T. Lade Jan 2014

Bioremediation Of Hydrocarbons Via Geobacillus, Amanda T. Lade

Honors Theses and Capstones

Hydrocarbon remediation is a vital aspect of environmental cleanup, especially in soil and groundwater to ensure the health and safety of the public’s drinking water. A possible solution to this contamination is bioremediation, the use of microorganisms to degrade pollutants. This research analyzes the effectiveness of Geobacillus as a hydrocarbon degrader for the use of bioremediation. Twelve strains were identified from oil-contaminated sources and grown in minimal media with crude oil as the carbon source. Growth was observed in the crude oil samples, demonstrating the possibility of bioremediation of hydrocarbons via Geobacillus.


Developing Genetic Tools For Geobacillus, Brittany Artale Jan 2014

Developing Genetic Tools For Geobacillus, Brittany Artale

Honors Theses and Capstones

Bacillus and Geobacillus are the primary bacterium used in biotechnology industries due to their ability to excrete extracellular materials such as proteins, enzymes and other byproducts. Bacillus subtilis, has a well-characterized competence machinery, giving way to characterized genetic tools. However, a significant problem associated with working with Bacillus is the regulation of endospore formation. An alternative to Bacillus is Geobacillus, a thermophilic bacterium. Thermophiles offer significant advantages over other bacteria as host organisms in biofuel, bioremediation, and biocatalyst processes. However, the genetic tools and competency associated with Geobacillus is still unknown. Through, genetic engineering the ability …


Phenol Deoxygenation Over Hydrotreating Catalysts, Madelyn R B Ball Jan 2014

Phenol Deoxygenation Over Hydrotreating Catalysts, Madelyn R B Ball

Honors Theses and Capstones

Phenol deoxygenation has been investigated as a model reaction for the deoxygenation of fatty acid methyl esters in biodiesel. Hydrodeoxygenated biodiesel is a drop-in fuel for petroleum diesel, and is a premium diesel with a high cetane number. As the first step in this research, two molybdenum catalysts were prepared, characterized and tested in a small-scale reactor. These catalysts were found to produce small amounts of benzene and cyclohexanol in the product stream, and confirmed the activity of the catalyst. A commercial cobalt molybdenum catalyst (Harshaw HT-400) was also tested and benzene, cyclohexanol, and cyclohexane were identified as products. Future …