FIELD PILOT STUDY ON THE ASSESSMENT OF SELECTED HYDROCARBON REMEDIATION TECHNIQUES

Abstract

The study discussed the remediation potentials of phytoremediation, land farming treatment and chemico-biological stabilization treatments in degrading Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) in soils polluted with crude oil in varying concentrations. The field pilot study was carried out in Benin city, Nigeria by preparing nine (9) cells with sub-cells attached which serve as control; each cell measures 1.53 m2. Three cells contained 100 kg of artificially contaminated soils at low contamination concentration (3000 mg kg-1), the next three cells contained 100 kg of contaminated soil samples but with medium concentration (5000 mg kg-1), while the last three cells contained 100 kg of spike samples in high concentration (7000 mg kg-1). The sub cells contained 10 kg of soil and left untreated. Each role containing three cells with low, medium and high concentration was treated separately using the three treatment methods. Soil samples to organic amendment ratio for the treatments was 2:1. The results showed over 90% reduction in the initial concentration of TPH and PAH across the different contamination levels with except in the control sub cells were only 30% reduction was recorded. The treated soil was found useful for agricultural purpose. One-way analysis of variance reveals a significant difference at p≤0.05 in the results obtained in application of the three methods. This implies that the methods effectively degraded the TPH and PAH concentrations. The three different methods of treatments effectively degraded TPH and PAH contaminants with land farming treatment being the best of the three.