Phytodegradation Potential Of Tiger Nut (Cyperus Esculentus) In Remediating Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soi

Conventional (Physical and chemical) treatment methods for remediating petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils present some limitations. Phytodegradation is an effective treatment in terms of efficacy, cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness in long-term use, and simplicity of administration. This research aimed to study the effectiveness of Tiger Nut (Cyperus Esculentus) in the remediation of soil contaminated by Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH). The result revealed irregular variations in the level of the physiochemical properties of the soil before, during and after the experiment. The result also revealed that all the planted seeds in the different concentrations or treatments of the TPH (including control) germinated with the exception (50% germination) in the soil treated with 25 g and 35 g of the TPH. Generally, there is a decrease in the plant's height, and the mass or concentration of the TPH increases relatively. The highest plant heights are observed in the control on the 80th day. Also, there is an increase in the height of all the plants every 10 days. There is a decrease in the values of TPH for all samples considered after the phytodegradation. The relative potential or efficiency (parentage reduction) of the grasses remediating the TPH-contaminated soils with the different concentrations of the Petroleum Hydrocarbon is in the order 5g> 15g> 25g>35g. The phytodegradation of the TPH-contaminated soil using tiger nut is higher when amended (with an average of 35% percentage reduction) with the cow dung than the unamended (with an average of 4% percentage reduction). It is therefore concluded that the Tiger Nut (with an overall 20% percentage reduction) has a low potential for the degradation of TPH-contaminated soil.