How do you remediate oil contaminated soil?
Power consumption has risen dramatically in recent decades as a result of global population growth and societal development. Petroleum oil is one of the most essential resources for meeting today's energy requirements. However, it has been discovered to be one of the biggest contaminants of the soil and a cause of environmental damage.
Oil spills occur in a variety of offshore and onshore petroleum sector operations such as production, transportation, storage, and management. Furthermore, the refining and additional processing of petroleum to create derivatives may result in leakage from pipelines, tanks, and equipment, among other things.
Over the last several decades, the globe has experienced enormous oil leak catastrophes such as the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, the recent Mauritius oil spill, and others. This has had a significant impact on the environment and is still a major worldwide problem. Furthermore, it is hazardous to people and animals, and it has a negative influence on plant life owing to soil pollution.
Petroleum's composition
Petroleum is generally composed of aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic hydrocarbons, and non-hydrocarbon chemicals, the majority of which are biodegradable. It destabilizes the soil's chemical equilibrium, promotes oxidative stress, and reduces plant nutrition availability. Furthermore, it has been shown that petroleum oil pollution impacts processes such as seed germination, photosynthesis, nutrient absorption, root growth, and even plant mortality.
Toxic and carcinogenic substances in petroleum oil and its derivatives can pollute the food chain and cause serious diseases in people such as cancer, nervous system depression, and other maladies.
Methods of oil remediation
To rehabilitate oil-contaminated soil, several approaches have been explored, designed, and executed. It covers the removal of impurities by physical, chemical, and biological means. Incineration, landfilling, thermal desorption, cement kilns, and other physical and chemical processes are used. They do, however, have a number of drawbacks.
It is costly due to the excavation expense, transportation of polluted soil for ex-situ treatment, and labour demanding job. Furthermore, the actual use of these strategies appears to be challenging. It has been discovered that physical and chemical approaches damage indigenous soil microorganisms and have an impact on the environment. As a result, bioremediation has emerged as one of the most favoured strategies for oil-impacted soil clean-up.
Bioremediation
Bioremediation is the technique of using naturally occurring live microorganisms to break down contaminants in the soil. It is known to breakdown, detoxify, and change contaminants into harmless compounds, restoring the soil to its natural state. It is recognized as one of the most environmentally friendly techniques of resolving oil-polluted soil.
Bioremediation has been widely employed in comparison to physical and chemical repair because of its benefits of good effect, ease of operation, cheap cost, quick degradation rate, and lack of secondary contamination. Various techniques, such as phytoremediation, rhizo-remediation, bio-stimulation, and bio-augmentation, are employed.
There are two forms of remediation in bioremediation:
1. in-situ
2. ex-situ
Land tillage, microbe addition, bio-culture, and bio-ventilation are examples of in-situ remediation procedures. Prefabricated bed and bioreactor are two ex-situ remediation methods.
However, there are several difficulties with bioremediation of polluted soil. It is often regarded as time-consuming, and elements such as temperature, pH, oxygen, and salinity influence the bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soil. However, there are inventive and easy solutions that can assist in overcoming these obstacles.
Conclusion
Netsol Water is a pioneer in providing efficient and effective oil and soil treatment solutions as well as water and waste water treatment solutions.
Netsol Water is Greater Noida-based leading water & wastewater treatment plant manufacturer. We are industry's most demanding company based on client review and work quality. We are known as best commercial RO plant manufacturers, industrial RO plant manufacturer, sewage treatment plant manufacturer, Water Softener Plant Manufacturers and effluent treatment plant manufacturers. Apart from this 24x7 customer support is our USP. Call on +91-9650608473, or write us at enquiry@netsolwater.com for any support, inquiry or product-purchase related query.
