Microbial community dynamics during chemical and/or biological remediation of oily sludge from petroleum refineries

The generation of oily sludges with a high hydrocarbon content is an unavoidable problem for the petrochemical industry. The goal of this project is to study microbial community structure of oily sludges from petroleum refineries, treated with chemical (e.g. oxidation) and/or biological remediation strategies (e.g. composting, phytoremediation) throughout the full process. A deep understanding of microbial community dynamics during the remediation process provides the support for a better design of sustainable management strategies to treat oily sludges.