Bioremediation of a crude-oil polluted agricultural-soil at Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background

Since more than 98% of Nigeria’s current economic support is crude oil, and oil spills are in inevitable and frequent, six treatment sample-cell were tested on the soils of the Niger Delta of Nigeria for crude oil bioremediation. Oil spills cause nitrogen levels to decrease, while increasing carbon content. A decrease in nitrogen and the toxicity of crude oil reduces the growth of heterotrophic bacteria, which utilize petroleum carbon for cell synthesis.

Conclusions & Takeaways

This study showed that an increase in fertilizers, along with tilling for aeration, could decrease the level of carbon by increasing the population of hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria. However, too much fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) could hinder microbial activity due to high concentrations of ammonia gas. Therefore, the right amount of fertilizer must be used to achieve the best remediation control for hydrocarbon in agricultural soils.