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Assessment of hydrocarbon degradation potentials in a plant–microbe interaction system with oil sludge contamination: A sustainable solution

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Version 2 2017-11-28, 14:48
Version 1 2017-05-25, 16:08
journal contribution
posted on 2017-11-28, 14:48 authored by Monika Dhote, Anil Kumar, Anjana Jajoo, Asha Juwarkar

A pot culture experiment was conducted for 90 days for the evaluation of oil and total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) degradation in vegetated and non-vegetated treatments of real-field oil-sludge-contaminated soil. Five different treatments include (T1) control, 2% oil-sludge-contaminated soil; (T2), augmentation of microbial consortium; (T3), Vertiveria zizanioides; (T4), bio-augmentation along with V. zizanioides; and (T5), bio-augmentation with V. zizanioides and bulking agent. During the study, oil reduction, TPH, and degradation of its fractions were determined. Physico-chemical and microbiological parameters of soil were also monitored simultaneously. At the end of the experimental period, oil content (85%) was reduced maximally in bio-augmented rhizospheric treatments (T4 and T5) as compared to control (27%). TPH reduction was observed to be 88 and 89% in bio-augmented rhizospheric soil (T4 and T5 treatments), whereas in non-rhizospheric and control (T2 and T1), TPH reduction was 78 and 37%, respectively. Degradation of aromatic fraction after 90 days in bio-augmented rhizosphere of treatments T4 and T5 was found to 91 and 92%, respectively. In microbial (T2) and Vertiveria treatments (T3), degradation of aromatic fraction was 83 and 68%, respectively. A threefold increase in soil dehydrogenase activity and noticeable changes in organic carbon content and water-holding capacity were also observed which indicated maximum degradation of oil and its fractions in combined treatment of plants and microbes. It is concluded that the plant–microbe soil system helps to restore soil quality and can be used as an effective tool for the remediation of oil-sludge-contaminated sites.

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