Emulating deep-sea bioremediation: oil plume degradation by undisturbed deep-sea microbial communities using a high-pressure sampling and experimentation systemEmulating deep-sea bioremediation: oil plume degradation by undisturbed deep-sea microbial communities using a high-pressure sampling and experimentation system Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2023-08-252022enThis research was funded by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) and the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) projects DEEPSEA with grant number 1510 (awarded to E.A.) and HEALMED with grant number 1874 (awarded to E.G.).Hydrocarbon biodegradation rates in the deep-sea have been largely determined under atmospheric pressure, which may lead to non-representative results. In this work, we aim to study the response of deep-sea microbial communities of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) to oil contamination at in situ environmental conditions and provide representative biodegradation rates. Seawater from a 600 to 1000 m depth was collected using a high-pressure (HP) sampling device equipped with a unidirectional check-valve, without depressurization upon retrieval. The sample was then passed into a HP-reactor via a piston pump without pressure disruption and used for a time-series oil biodegradation experiment at plume concentrations, with and without dispersant application, at 10 MPa and 14 °C. The experimental results demonstrated a high capacity of indigenous microbial communities in the deep EMS for alkane degradation regardless of dispersant application (>70%), while PAHs were highly degraded when oil was dispersed (>90%) and presented very low half-lives (19.4 to 2.2 days), compared to published data. To our knowledge, this is the first emulation study of deep-sea bioremediation using undisturbed deep-sea microbial communities.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Energies1513Antoniou_et_al_Energies_15(13)_2022.pdfChania [Greece]Library of TUC2023-08-25application/pdf3.2 MBfree Antoniou Eleftheria Αντωνιου Ελευθερια Fragkou Efsevia Φραγκου Ευσεβια Charalampous Georgia Χαραλαμπους Γεωργια Marinakis Dimitrios Μαρινακης Δημητριος Kalogerakis Nikos Καλογερακης Νικος Gontikaki Evangelia Γοντικακη Ευαγγελια MDPI Oil plume degradation Dispersant application Marine microbes Deep-sea Bioremediation High-pressure sampler High-pressure reactor