Abstract
This study investigates the effectiveness of bone char (organic) and inorganic nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium (NPK) fertilizers as stimulants in the degradability of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants on soil. The physicochemical properties of the hydrocarbon sludge were used to assess the effectiveness of this process over an 8-week period using 0.5–3.5 kg mass of each fertilizer at different experiments. A first order kinetic model was used to estimate the rate of degradation of the total hydrocarbon content (THC) and total organic carbon (TOC) contaminants and the half-life of the remediation process. The microbial population within the period was also determined. The p-value (p < 0.05) indicated that these fertilizers were effective in degrading these contaminants on the soil, because of the significant difference between the treated and the control soil samples. A direct relationship was observed between with the mass and performance of the fertilizers. With 3.5 kg mass of the fertilizers, rate constants of 0.018 and 0.019 d− 1 were obtained for the removal of the THC and TOC contaminants, respectively, using the bone char fertilizer, whereas NPK fertilizer gave rates of 0.03 and 0.023 d− 1 respectively. The performance of the NPK fertilizer is attributable to its nitrogen and phosphorous content. The model adequately described the process and showed the effectiveness of both fertilizers in the remediation process.
Highlights
Crude oil exploration and exploitation has given rise to the problem of environmental pollution in many parts of the world
The large-scale production and oil exploration activities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, renowned for its huge deposit of crude oil and natural gas reserve, has given rise to oil spillage which has impacted negatively on the environment leading to air, water, and land pollution
4 Conclusions This work has successfully shown the efficacy of the bone char and NPK fertilizers in the remediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soil
Summary
Crude oil exploration and exploitation has given rise to the problem of environmental pollution in many parts of the world. Bioremediation has been shown to be an efficient and viable approach in the management of oil spilled soils This technique involves the use of microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, and fungi to degrade toxic and nontoxic substances. It involves the breakdown of these substances using living organisms [2, 3]. Various techniques of this approach exist and these include: bio-stimulation, bioaugmentation, bioventing, land farming, phytoremediation, intrinsic bioremediation and controlled natural attenuation, and they could be applied in-situ or ex-situ depending on other factors of consideration [4,5,6,7,8]
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