BEIJING (Commodity Online) : China's experiment with oil eating bacteria to help clean oil spill areas in its northeast coast near Dalian city was proved to be a success, said country's Maritime Safety Administration.

It's the first time that China is making use of bio-technology and bio-oil-absorbing products to solve an environmental pollution issue.

China are using over 23 tones of bacteria to help clean up the oil spill in the Yellow Sea caused by a pipeline explosion and fire at the weekend.

The process, known as bio-remediation, uses micro-organisms to break down some toxic hydrocarbons present in crude oil into less harmful compounds. It was used to help mitigate the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

China's Maritime Safety Administration had placed its order for the bacteria on Saturday as dark brown oil slick had stretched over at least 183 square kilometres of ocean.

Dozens of oil-skimming vessels and hundreds of fishing boats were working to remove the slick off the northeastern port city of Dalian, after the accident on Friday that spilled an estimated 1,500 tones of crude into the sea.

By Monday at least 460 tons of the estimated 1,500 tons of oil have been scooped up thanks to the 24-hour job done by the environmental friendly oil-eating bacteria.

Crude oil Oil Spill China