Bioremediation of Oil-Contaminated Soil Using Emulsifier (Liquid Soap), NPK Fertilizer and Microbial (Bacillus sp) Treatment
Bioremediation of Oil-Contaminated Soil Using Emulsifier (Liquid Soap), NPK Fertilizer and Microbial (Bacillus sp) Treatment.
ABSTRACT
Two different set of soil samples were collected near Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (KRPC), a Subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Kaduna
The first set of samples labelled (D) was obtained from areas where diesel from the refinery spilled into the environment and the second set of samples labelled (P) was collected from areas where petrol leaked and spilled into the environment.
The pH of the soil was found to be 5.9 and 6.2 for D and P samples respectively.The cation exchange capacity (CEC) was higher in sample P than in sample D (32.0 and 30.0 mmol/kg of soil respectively).
P has high concentrations of cations ( Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+ with concentration values 3.6, 1.17, 0.50 and 0.22 mol/kg respectively) because of its high CEC while sample D with a lower CEC has a lower concentration of cation (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+ with concentration values 1.20, 0.27, 0.25 and 0.17 mol/kg respectively).
The oil (contaminant) was extracted in dichloromethane and a GC- MS analysis was run to determine the nature (composition) of the oil and the concentration of the contaminant was determined using gravimetric method.
This finding suggests that Bacillus sp is a viable microbial strain for bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil when biostimulated by adding fertilizer combined with emulsification (B, E and F).
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
One of the major environmental problems in the world today is hydrocarbon contamination resulting from the activities related to the petrochemical industry.
In Nigeria, oil pollution problems have been prevalent since the commencement of oil exploration and development of the petroleum industry (Okoh et al., 2001).
Accidental release of petroleum products are of particular concern in the environment. Hydrocarbon components have been known to belong to the family of carcinogens and neurotoxic organic pollutants.
Currently accepted disposal methods of incineration or burial insecure landfills can become prohibitively expensive when amounts of contaminants are large.
The deleterious effect of pollutants on the environment has led to increased awareness and vigilance against contamination of the Niger Delta environment.
In relatively recent times in Nigeria, there has been remarkable increase in population, urbanization and industrial activities, (Eze and Okpokwasili, 2010).
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