EDUPEDIA247

BIODEGRADATION OF BONNYLIGHT CRUDE OIL BY BACTERIA FROM SOIL AND WATER SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM NNPC DEPOT IN ORE TOWN OF ONDO STATE CHAPTER ONE 1.1 INTRODUCTION Petroleum is at present Nigeria’s and indeed the world’s most important derived energy source (Moffat and Linden, 2005). Petroleum in its natural state is referred to as crude oil (Ukoli, 2003). Crude oil is mainly either black or green but it can also be light yellow (Onifade et al., 2007). It varies considerably in density and is described as heavy, average or light (Ojo and Adebusuyi, 1996). Crude oil is one of the most significant pollutants in the environment as it is capable of causing serious damages to humans and the ecosystem (Okpokwasili, 1996). Crude oil is a complex mixture of thousands of hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbon compounds including heavy metals. It is the largest and most important source of hydrocarbons (Hunt, 1996). Crude oil varies in appearance and composition from one oil kind to another (Craig, 2

CHAPTER ONE 1.0      INTRODUCTION Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by parasitic protozoans belonging to the genus Plasmodium, (WHO 2014). Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, fatigue, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma or death, (Caraballo 2014). The disease is transmitted by the biting of mosquitos, and the symptoms usually begin ten to fifteen days after being bitten. If not properly treated, people may have recurrences of the disease months later (WHO 2014). In those who have recently survived an infection, reinfection usually causes milder symptoms. This partial resistance disappears over months to years if the person has no continuing exposure to malaria (Caraballo 2014). The disease is widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions that exist in a broad band around the equator, (Caraballo 2014). This includes much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Mal