Study on the Degradation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) by Water Hyacinth Co-composts

S. E. Akarator; F.N. Emuh; C.N. Egbuchua

Abstract

AbstractThis study was carried out to investigate the rate of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) by water hyacinth co-compost at the Teaching and Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Delta State University (DELSU), Asaba Campus. Five (5) kg of soils was collected from the school farm and measured into eighty-four (84) experimental pots and the treatments were arranged in 4×7 factorial experiment in a completely randomized design replicated three (03) times. The soils were treated with 0.3 litre, 0.6 litre and 0.9 litre of crude oil and the composts (water hyacinth), (palm kernel fiber), (cow dung), (poultry manure), (water hyacinth + cow dung), (water hyacinth + palm kernel fiber) and (water hyacinth + poultry manure) simultaneously and soil samples were collected at 0, 40, 80 and 120 days after application (DAA). Gas chromatography was used to determine the crude oil fractions that were degraded over the course of the experiment. The data collected were statistically analysed with GENSTAT Programme, version 12.1 (GENSTAT, 2009) using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means showing significant difference was separated using Least Significant Difference (LSD). At day 120 of the remediation process, 0.3 litre + poultry manure best supported the rate of TPH degradation while 0.9 litre + water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) least supported the rate of TPH decomposition. From day zero to day 120 the combination of 0.3 litre + different composts (water hyacinth), (palm kernel fiber), (cow dung), (poultry manure), (water hyacinth + cow dung), (water hyacinth + palm kernel fiber) and (water hyacinth + poultry manure) had the highest rate of TPH degradation and 0.9 litre + the combination of the different compost(water hyacinth), (palm kernel fiber), (cow dung), (poultry manure), (water hyacinth + cow dung), (water hyacinth + palm kernel fiber) and (water hyacinth + poultry manure) had the lowest rate of TPH degradation except on day 80 which showed that the best combination was 0.6 L + cow dung while the 0.6 litre + poultry manure had the lowest rate of degradation. Comparing the means of the different treatments from day 40 to day 120, the result showed that means were significantly different (p<0.05) in all the treatment options. Therefore, it may be inferred that that the composts either in single or combined applications are capable of stimulating total petroleum hydrocarbon as well as restoring a crude oil contaminated soil, however, further studies are recommended to determine the best rate of the compost to use that will yield the best result of decomposition.Keywords: Bioremediation, contamination, soil, crude oil, water hyacinth co-composts, total petroleum hydrocarbonCite this ArticleS.E. Akarator, F.N. Emuh, C.N. Egbuchua. Study on the Degradation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) by Water Hyacinth Co-composts. Research & Reviews: Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology. 2019; 8(3): 20–26p.