Abstract: With the sharp increase in population and modernization of society, environmental pollution resulting from petroleum hydrocarbons has increased, resulting in an urgent need for remediation. Accidental release of petroleum products are of particular concern in the environment. Hydrocarbon components have been known to belong to the family of carcinogens and neurotoxic organic pollutants. Mechanical and chemical methods generally used to remove hydrocarbons from contaminated sites have limited effectiveness and can be expensive. Bioremediation is the promising technology for the treatment of these contaminated sites since it is cost – effective and will lead to complete mineralisation Bioremediation functions basically on biodegradation, which may refer to complete mineralization of organic contaminants into carbondioxide, water, inorganic compounds and cell protein or transformation of complex organic contaminanats to other simpler organic compounds by biological agents like microorganisms. Many indigenous microorganisms in water and soil are capable of degrading hydrocarbon contaminants. This chapter provides an overview of the recent literature to the usage of bacteria as biodegraders, discusses barriers regarding the implementation of this microbial technology, and provides suggestions for further developments.

Key Words: Petroleum hydrocarbon degrading bacteria, bioremediation, environmental pollution, carcinogens and neurotoxic.

| DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2023.10120