Hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria in soils within the vicinity of a hot mix asphalt (HMA) plant

Hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria (HUB) were characterized in soils within a hot mix asphalt (HMA) plant vicinity to ascertain their ability to thrive in such an environment. Soil samples were collected at both topsoil (0–15 cm) and subsoil (15–30 cm) at an increasing distance of 10m from the HMA plant. The physico-chemical parameters and the n-alkane concentration of the soil samples were determined using standard analytical methods. The results showed the dominance of Micrococcus sp, Bacillus sp, Pseudomonas sp, Vibrio sp and Flavobacterium sp among the isolated HUB. The pH of the soil samples were slightly acidic while the conductivity was between 71.78±1.33–97.33±0.03 μS/cm. Total organic carbon (TOC) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) were low at <10% and <0.5 mg/kg respectively. The nalkane concentration of the soil samples ranged from 8.69–65.08 mg/kg. This study enriches the dossier on bacterial diversity and it is expected that organisms that thrive in soils within HMA plant vicinity could be exploited for bioremediation purposes.