PHYTOREMEDIATION OF CRUDE OIL CONTAMINATED SOIL USING VETIVER
(Chrypsopogon zizanioides)
Abstract
Soil contamination is mainly attributed to certain factors such as
industrialization and increasing population with negative impact on
natural resources such as petroleum. The petroleum industry affects the
environment through oil spills with negative effect on human health and
the surrounding ecosystem due to presence of Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbons (PAHs) that can be carcinogenic to humans. The aim of this
research is to compare the effectiveness of Chrypsopogon zizanioides
also known as vetiver grass under the influence of biosurfactants and
N.P.K. fertilizer in degrading and immobilizing persistent oil
pollutants particularly the 16 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
classified by United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) as
priority pollutants. The experiment was conducted in a glasshouse by
growing the plant C. zizanioides in a freshly spiked crude oil
contaminated soil and a weathered soil added with biosurfactant
(ramphnolipids) produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Similarly, all
contaminated samples were amended with N.P.K fertilizer to promote the
growth of C. zizanioides and microbial activities. Likewise, the
assessment of the (bio) distribution of the petroleum hydrocarbons
particularly the PAHs was carried out via Gas Chromatography Mass
Spectrometry (GC MS). The result of this research has already indicated
an improvement in plant growth and biomass in samples amended with
N.P.K. fertilizer. It is also highly anticipated that the findings of
this research will help in dissipating persistent contaminants such as
PAHs in the crude oil contaminated soils under the influence of C.
zizanioides and ramphnolipids and N.P.K. fertilizer as compared to the
control samples.