Rapid rate of industrialization, urbanization and automobile, cause severe contamination to air and soil. There
has been exponential increase in numbers of automobiles in Indian subcontinent. In this study we used four native
soil microorganisms for remediation of petroleum contaminated sites at Jaipur, India. The land areas of examination
were exclusively selected for its use as a stand for heavy transport vehicles. Surface soil was collected from the areas
within and surroundings of the Transport Nagar, Jaipur. Physiochemical studies, total petroleum hydrocarbon and
effect of various bacterial consortia were investigated. Results show that pH, electrical conductivity, bicarbonate and
water holding capacity in test samples (T1, T2 and T3) were substantially reduced. Measurement of chloride
however, showed huge elevation (P<0.05) in all three test samples (T1, T2 and T3), which was calculated as 53.9
mg/100 g, 71 mg/100 g and 146.26 mg/100 g, respectively. Wide ranges of alkanes (C8 to C29) including both short
chain and long chain alkanes were found in test samples. New peaks were observed following treatment with
bacterial consortia. In test sample T1 intermediate compounds were observed. The best result was recorded for
consortium D and E. Among these two consortia, consortium D (P. rhodesiae, C. henricii and P. koreense) showed
exceptional growth from 3rd day onward. At 10th day of incubation growth of consortium D reached highest peak
which was nearly 2-3 folds greater than other consortia. Our results showed that consortium D was a completely
usable and functional bioremediation tool to improve soil physiochemical characteristics and with effective biodegradation
of petroleum hydrocarbon.
