Stimulation of the activity of microorganisms by humin preparations in oil-polluted soils

The influence of humin preparations obtained from low-moor peat by the mechanochemical method on the changes in the microflora number and hydrocarbon composition in oil-polluted soils was studied. The intense growth of the microorganisms in number especially in the oil-polluted soil was observed upon the application of humin acids (at a concentration of 0.005 wt %) extracted from mechanically processed peat. In this case, the content of the extracted bitumoids decreased down to 40 wt %. The soil microflora stimulated by the humin preparations was shown to have highly destructive oil-oxidizing activity reflected in the indices of the hydrocarbon biodegradation. The mechanochemical activation of peat allows raising the efficiency of extracting the humic acids and can be a reason for increasing the availability of their individual components and parts of molecules, including micro- and macroelements that are used by microbial cells as sources of nutrition and energy.