ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Oil spillage is a common problem in oil producing communities in Africa, and has been a particular problem in the Niger delta, since oil production began. The effectiveness of bioremediation and phytoremediation was investigated at an oil spill site close to Eriemu in Nigeria. The impacted area was divided into three blocks, A and B represent heavily and moderately polluted areas respectively and block C an unimpacted block. Much of the contamination was within the top 3 m of the soil. Excavation was carried out in block A and B to 2 m and the excavated materials from each depth interval were laid on PVC sheets as biopiles. Seeded microbes (from block C) were applied according to nutrient formulation needed to degrade the level of TPH in each biopile. TPH reduced from 20,000 ppm to close to 0 ppm within 8 weeks. The effect of solar energy, though not investigated, but could not be ruled out as contributory to TPH reduction under this circumstance. Specially trained water hyacinth was used in aqua cells to treat pumped polluted groundwater at the site before re-injection into the ground. It was concluded that bioremediation and phytoremediation are alternative cheap methods of ameliorating soil and groundwater polluted by crude oil spillage.
