ABSTRACT

The biodeteriorntion of lubricating oil from different generator engine sets were investigated. The used oil samples were collected from five generator sets while the unused oil served as control. The bacterial isolates identified were Bacillus, Coryne bacterium, Actinomyces,Citrobacter,Micrococcus, and Pseudomonas while the fungi isolates were Aspergillus, and Cladosporium sp, Incubation of the bacteria at different temperatures for 48hours showed that I 00% grew at 30C, 56% grew at 45C, 44% grew at 55C, 20% grew at 65°C while 10% grew at 75°C and survived at 80C. The bacterial isolates were able to utilize the lubricating oil at varying degrees showing that lubricating oil can serve as their sole carbon source. The results also showed that lubricating oil in service is more prone to biodeterioration than unused oil. The biodeteriogenic potential of these organisms caused changes of various sorts in the quality and hence performance of the oil