Theresa Toochukwu Ugwuechendu; L C Osuji; Isiah E Adejoh
Abstract
Environmental degradation due to crude oil pollution has several impacts, and various mechanisms have been adopted to clean up crude oil components in the environment. One such mechanism ...
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Environmental degradation due to crude oil pollution has several impacts, and various mechanisms have been adopted to clean up crude oil components in the environment. One such mechanism is the use of vegetables as a phytoremediation agent. The study investigated the phytoremediation capacity assessment of a common tropical vegetable (Abelmoluscus esculentus) on crude oil-impacted soil. Uptake response of Okra plant at different concentrations of crude oil (5%, 15% and 25%) in 4 kg using laboratory standard techniques, Bioaccumulation factor (BF) and Translocation factor (TF) ratio were analysed. Based on the outcome, the Okra plant showed a significant reduction in heavy metals (HM) concentration in the impacted soil. Hence, the plant showed heavy metals uptake capacity. At 5% crude oil concentration, the BFroot was >1 for all the heavy metals except Cr, while the TF showed that all HMs had <1 except for Hg (>1). For all other concentrations (15% and 25% crude oil), the BF showed <1, except for Cu of BFroot at 15%. Also, the TF showed <1 for other concentrations except Zn at 15%. The significant relationship between the soil and the root of the okra plant can be attributed to the closeness; as expected, the root draws its nutrients from the available soil. Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) can clean up crude oil-contaminated soil as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method. The study recommended the prevention of crude oil spillage and further research to establish the most efficient plant period for better uptake capacity of the plant.
