Figure 5
Predicted effect of oil droplet size distribution on biodegradation kinetics. The initial concentration of oil and microbes is 0.4 mg/L and 2.73 × 104 cells/ml, respectively. Left: Three different mean diameters and the same coefficient of variation (CV) of 1.8; Right: Three CV values and the same mean diameter of 100 μm. Smaller mean droplet sizes and larger CV leads to larger water-oil-microbe contact and therefore faster and larger extent of degradation.