Bioremediation of Crude Oil-Polluted Environment using Organic Amendments

The contamination of water surfaces brought about by crude oil pollution has intensified the need for bioremediation. The enhanced bioremediation of crude oil-polluted water using organic amendments was carried out. The water sample was collected in a sterile container from Bonny River. The nutrients used included rhamnolipids and cow dung. Four experimental setup such as control, P+CCW, Q+CCW and P+Q+CCW was designed. The fungi and hydrocarbon-utilising fungi were monitored using standard microbiological techniques. The physicochemical parameters of the samples were determined using the American Public Health Association Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. The total petroleum hydrocarbon was determined using the Gas chromatography. Baseline pH of the control and polluted water was 8.4 and 5.6, respectively. The TPH of the control was 47.0mg/l while crude oil polluted water was 5838.8 mg/l. Rhizopus sp, Aspergillus sp, Rhodotorula sp, Penicillium sp, Geotrichum sp and Mucor sp were the hydrocarbon utilizing fungal isolates. The pH range for Days 1, 28 and 56 was 3.69-5.41, 5.62-6.21 and 5.81-6.84, respectively. The change in phosphate concentration for Days 1, 28 and 56 was 0.31-2.74 mg/l, 0.24-1.77 mg/l and 0.19-1.83 mg/l, respectively. The nitrate range for Days 1, 28 and 56 was 0.61-4.2 mg/ml, 0.94-3.82 mg/l and 0.15-2.55 mg/l. The % loss in TPH ranged from 21.6-52.6%. The Cow dung had the highest percentage loss followed by the rhamnolipids amendment. Both amendments could be used in bioremediation of crude oil polluted water. More so, it is recommended to use them singly rather than in consortium since they had better results when used alone.