Potentialities of Six Plant Species on Phytoremediation Attempts of Fuel Oil-Contaminated Soils

Abstract

A field experiment investigating the phytoremediation potential of six plant species—Goosegrass (Eleusine indica), Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), Sessile joyweed (Alternanthera sessilis), Benghal dayflower (Commelina benghalensis), Lovanga (Cleome ciliata), and Chinese violet (Asystasia gangetica)—on soil contaminated with fuel oil (82.5 ml/kg of soil) have been conducted from March to August 2016. The experiments consider three modalities—Tn: unpolluted planted soils, To: unplanted polluted soils, and Tp: polluted planted soil—randomized arranged. Only three (E. indica, C. dactylon, and A. sessilis) of the six species survived while the others died 1 month after the beginning of experimentations. The relative growth indexes showed a strong similarity between the growth parameters of E. indica and C. dactylon, each on polluted and control soils, unlike A. sessilis. Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) removal efficiency were 82.56, 80.69, and 77% on soil planted with E. indica, C. dactylon, and A. sessilis, respectively; and 57.25% on non-planted soil. According to the bioconcentration and translocation factors, E. indica and A. sessilis are involved on rhizodegradation and phytoextraction of hydrocarbons whereas C. dactylon is only involved into rhizodegradation. Overall, E. indica and C. dactylon out-yielded A. sessilis in the phytoremediation capacity of fuel oil-contaminated soils.