Abstract
The lower reach of Qua Iboe River estuary houses one of the largest crude oil production facility in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Frequent oil spills has led to severe deterioration of the water system, This study determined 16 polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface waters of sites across the estuary in the wet and dry seasons. Gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC / FID) was used to measure PAHs in water samples following extraction. The sum of PAHs ranged from7.827E-04 for the wet season to 1.500E – 02 mg/l for the dry season with significantly higher (P<0.05) PAH concentration in the wet season. Total PAHs for the water sample at all sampling sites were above the permissible limit. The composition pattern of PAHs were dominated by high molecular weight PAHs, constituting 4-6 ring compounds. Diagnostic ratios of Fluoranthene/Fluoranthene + Pyrene, Anthracene/Anthracene + Phenanthrene and low molecular weight-PAH to high molecular weight PAH were calculated to evaluate possible sources of PAH compounds These ratios reflected predominantly pyrogenic sources of PAH to the water body originating from gas flaring from a petrochemical facility located close to the sampled stations. Cluster analysis was used to assess similarities between individual PAHs in water from QIRE for the dry and wet seasons. It revealed three primary PAH clusters in both seasons indicating different levels of anthropogenic activities in the cluster areas. There is a need for appropriate regulatory legislation on the control, treatment and discharge of oilfield effluents into QIRE and its adjourning creeks.
Highlights
Water pollution occurs when the quality of water is changed in a way which affects the organisms that depend on it, or its suitability for recreational and domestic purposes [1]
Concentration of the 16 priority Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water from QIRE in both dry and wet seasons are shown in Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4
Higher PAH values recorded in the wet season compared to the dry season may be due to flooding, possible pipeline vandalisation and oil spillage that occurred in the month of July during the sampling period [15]
Summary
Water pollution occurs when the quality of water is changed in a way which affects the organisms that depend on it, or its suitability for recreational and domestic purposes [1]. Some contaminants of water include trace metals, pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are formed by incomplete combustion of organic matter containing fuels such as oil, wood, coal, diesel, fat, garbage and incense [2]. PAHs occur naturally in coal, crude oil, and gasoline and are present in products made from fossil fuels such as asphalt, creosote, coal tar. Oil exploration activities have resulted in the release of large amounts of hydrocarbons into the terrestrial and aquatic environment (8). This has led to disruption of socio-economic activities, water scarcity, poor esthetics and deterioration of water quality in rivers of the Niger Delta [9]. This study seeks to determine the contamination status, distribution and source apportionment of sixteen priority PAHs in the QIRE system
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