The International Journal of Biotechnology, 2014, 3(3): 32-46 32 BIOREMEDIATION OF PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT (POME) POLLUTED SOIL USING MICROORGANISMS FOUND IN ORGANIC WASTES Okwute Ojonoma L. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Abuja, Gwagwalada-Abuja Ijah Udeme J.J. Department of Microbiology, Fed. Univ. of Technology, Minna-Niger State ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to demonstrate the use of chicken droppings and cow dung in the amendment of soil polluted with palm oil mill effluent (POME) in bioremediation. Soil polluted with 20 % raw (POME) in the laboratory was amended with different concentrations of chicken droppings, cow dung and a combination of the wastes (10 %, 20 % and 30 %). Isolation, characterization and identification of microorganisms were carried out and compared over time with respect to the different concentrations. Gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GCMS) analysis of extracts of POME polluted and amended soil indicated a reduction in the number of long chain hydrocarbons (C 13 -C 44 ) in POME polluted soil to C 8 -C 21 in amended soil. This was attributed to the presence of microorganisms of the genera Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Proteus, Micrococcus, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Paecilomyces and Candida in significant numbers throughout the period of analysis. However, a combination of the two organic wastes at 20 % concentration was most effective in this reduction. The implication of these findings is that the bacteria, mould and yeast isolates found in these organic wastes can be useful in rehabilitation of POME polluted soil and possibly other oil polluted sites. © 2014 Pak Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Keywords: Bioremediation, Palm oil mill effluent (POME), Chicken droppings, Cow dung, Organic wastes. 1. INTRODUCTION Raw palm oil mill effluent (POME) consisting of complex vegetative matter is a thick, brownish, colloidal slurry of water, oil and solids including about 2 % suspended solids originating mainly from cellulose fruit debris, that is, palm fruit mesocarp (Bek-Nielsen et al., 1999). The raw or partially treated POME usually has an extremely high content of degradable organic matter, which is said to be due in part to the presence of unrecovered palm oil (Ahmad et al., 2003). POME has been reported to alter the physicochemical properties of soil, (Okwute and Isu, 2007), pollution of waterways due to oxygen depletion, (Bek-Nielsen et al., 1999), significantly alter microbial numbers in POME polluted soil (Nwaugo et al., 2008) and reduction in the growth of oil palm seedlings (Nazeeb et al., 1984). In natural conditions, pollutants are degraded slowly. The implication is that a lot of harm will be done to the ecosystem before such an environment recovers. There is therefore, the need to speed up the rate of recovery of the polluted environment. Bioremediation is any process that uses microorganisms, their enzymes and green plants to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition (Khan, 2011). Microorganisms alter and break down the oil into other substances such as carbon dioxide, water, and simpler compounds that do not affect the environment. The speed of recovery in a soil environment will greatly depend on the type of The International Journal of Biotechnology journal homepage: http://www.pakinsight.com/?ic=journal&journal=57