A sunken tanker off the Coast of Guimaras Island has blackened it with its massive oil spill, causing huge environmental damages. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ corporate arm discovered a group of three microbes, which can eventually help cleaning up the shores! You got me right, its microbes – called ‘Pristine Sea.’
These three microbes — Pseudomonas azelaica, Serratia marcescans, and the Xanthomonas maltophilia eat the 87 percent-hydrocarbon content of the oil, and die after having it. Left by itself, biodegradation of the oil occurs naturally over time, though it takes a long period.
To hasten this biodegradation process, DENR will ask Petron to purchase a bioreactor machine from the United States that can produce the Pristine Sea at a rate of 100 million/milliliter! A medium-sized machine needed for this process called Bioremediation costs 500,000 dollars!
