Analytical Techniques in the Investigation of Petroleum Pollutant Fate in the Environment

Abstract

Studies on the environmental fate of petroleum-type pollutants remain to be an actual scientific interdisciplinary problem. The fate of an oil type pollutant in the environment can be monitored by determining its quantity and studying its composition in the polluted samples from the same or close locality, and during different periods of time. On the other side, simulation of the natural conditions in the laboratory or by ex sity bioremediation with simultaneous intensification of only specified factors affecting the intensity and rate of transformation, made it possible to save time and come to relevant conclusions. This paper presents a brief overview of the analytical, primarily instrumental, techniques that is applied in featuring oil hydrocarbons, identification of oil spills in assessments of environmental impacts, and in following up the efficacy of bioremediation. This review is focused on new trends in the analysis methods of oil biomarkers, applied in our recent work.