Abstract:
Crude oil pollution has been connected to a rise in the degradation of environmental soils, depositing many contaminants like hydrocarbons and heavy metals and also making the environment unfavorable for living things. The dream of creating such items for the unsolvable environmental pollution circumstances of today becomes a reality with the application of locally sourced environmental remediation stimulants. By doing this, additional quantity can then be used to repair polluted soil. Despite having a high nutritional content, brackish water has proven difficult to use as biostimulants to improve soil. This study assessed the brackish water's capacity for bioremediation of soil contaminated with crude oil. The experiment was conducted at the teaching and research farm of the Rivers Institute of Agricultural Research at Rivers State University in Port-Harcourt. In five (5) cells (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5) with three replications each, soil samples containing crude oil were used. Particle size distribution (PSD), nitrogen, phosphorus (P), potassium (K), total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (TPAH), and total heterotrophic bacteria (THB) were among the physiochemical characteristics of treated soil and brackish water that were examined in the lab both before and after treatment. The findings demonstrated that the soil is a loamy sand soil and that brackish water has high NPK levels, which demonstrate that it is a biostimulant. At the conclusion of the remediation period of 8 weeks, TPH and PAH similarly had significant decreases in all treatment choices, with their percentage reductions exceeding 94% for the same duration. Additionally, the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results at 95% confidence levels revealed a significant difference. Additionally, during eight (8) weeks of repair, there was an increase in the number of THB, which then decreased as the stimulants were removed after reaching their peak. Therefore, it is advised that brackish water be utilized as an excellent biostimulant to encourage the breakdown of TPH and PAH in soil that has been polluted with crude oil.
|