Potential Use of Eragrostis Curvula and Chromolaena Odorata for Phytoremediation on Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soil: A Case Study at Newmont Ghana Gold Limited – Ahafo Kenyasi

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2013
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Contaminated soil containing oil and grease and total petroleum hydrocarbon was phytoremediated by blending 3 Kg of the hydrocarbon contaminated soil with portions of compost, topsoil and fertilizer (urea). The soil was homogenized with the above mentioned nitrogen sources and monitored for a period of Twenty (20) weeks with seeds of Chromolaena odorata (Acheampong plant) and vegetative part of Eragrostis curvula (Love grass) nursed and planted respectively. The different treatment combinations used in this study were, Treatment A (Hydrocarbon contaminated soil (HCS) + Top soil), Treatment B (HCS + Inorganic fertilizer), Treatment C (HCS + Compost), Treatment D (HCS + Fertilizer + Topsoil), Treatment E (HCS + Compost + Topsoil), Treatment F (HCS + fertilizer + Compost) and the control treatment, Treatment G (HCS only). The different treatment combinations were augmented with different levels of inorganic nitrogen at 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2%. The 7 different treatments all reported significantly different rates of biodegradation of oil and grease and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH), with most of the treatments resulting in significant reduction of oil and grease and TPH concentrations. The results of the phytoremediation experiment indicated measurable reduction of oil and grease as well as Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentrations in the different treatment media as far as the two plants are concerned with Treatment E resulted in the best enhancement of oil and grease and TPH with over 90% reduction in contaminant levels after the 20-week period. Generally, the treatment combinations with the 0.8% nitrogen amendment recorded the lowest oil and grease and TPH phytoremediation rates using Chromolaena odorata and Eragrostis curvula. The residual Oil and Grease / TPH levels after the 20-week period were higher in 0.8% compared to the 1.0% and 1.2% Nitrogen levels. The phytoremediation experiment showed that, the higher the nitrogen amendment in the various treatments, the higher the plant growth and thus the higher the reduction of the petroleum contaminants. The addition of organic fertilizers and materials significantly (p<0.05) enhanced phytoremediation rates. Treatment E (Hydrocarbon contaminated soil + Compost + Topsoil) yielded the best phytoremediation rates for the two plants probably because of the compost and topsoil combination as opposed to Treatment B (Hydrocarbon contaminated soil + fertilizer) which consistently produced the lowest phytoremediation rates in the different Nitrogen amendments. Accumulation of oil and grease as well as Total petroleum was also higher in the root and shoot of the Chromolaena odorata as compared to the root and shoot of the Eragrostis curvula after the distractive sampling.
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A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Environmental Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of the Master Of Science Degree in Environmental Science
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