Patent ID: 7906315

Claim:
A process of treating a mixed waste of soil contaminated with a heavy metal pollutant and a petroleum pollutant comprising the steps of: providing a supply of a contaminated soil containing a heavy metal pollutant and a petroleum pollutant; introducing into said supply of contaminated soil at least one biologically pure culture of a bacterium strain selected from the group consisting of Ralstonia pickettii SRS ATCC PTA-5579 , Alcaligenes piechaudii SRS ATCC PTA-5580, and Pseudomonas putida biotype b SRS ATCC PTA-5581 and combinations thereof, of which said strain metabolizes a constituent of the petroleum pollutant, and said strain further produces a biosurfactant; and periodically removing a portion of the produced biosurfactant from said supply of soil, said biosurfactant containing therein a portion of said heavy metal pollutant and said petroleum pollutant; and, repeating said step of removing a portion of said biosurfactant until a concentration of said heavy metal pollutant and said petroleum pollutant in the soil is reduced to a target concentration of 100 ppm or less.