scholarly journals Metagenomics insight into microbial dynamics in field-scale remediation of crude oil-polluted soil

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chioma Blaise Chikere ◽  
Memory Tekere ◽  
Rasheed Adeleke

Abstract Background: The frequency of crude oil pollution has been on the increase following increased exploration, exploitation and production of energy from fossil fuel. Bioremediation has been shown to be eco-friendly and cost-effective method of oil spill remediation. In the Niger Delta, Landfarming has been the most used technique. The aim of this research was to employ metagenomic techniques to understand microbial dynamics during field-scale remediation in the Niger Delta in order to improve and reduce the time of remediation. Results: The surface (0.0 – 0.5m) sample had an extractable TPH value of 6231 mg/kg. The subsurface samples from 1m, 1.5m and 2.0m depths had extractable TPH concentration of 4836 mg/kg, 9112 mg/kg and 7273 mk/kg respectively. Proteobacteria dominated the bacterial community of the oil-polluted soil and comprised mainly of the classes Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria. Alpha diversity analysis revealed the presence of crude oil in the soil reduced microbial diversity. Principal coordinate analysis showed the microbial structure continually changed following changes in the chemical composition of the soil. Mycobacterium, Burkholderia, Methylobacterium and Bacillus were among the core OTUs detected during the period of remediation. Significant variation in pathway abundance particularly pathways for propanoate degradation, benzoate degradation, naphthalene degradation, fatty acid metabolism, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation and degradation of xenobiotics were observed when the unpolluted soil was compared to the samples obtained during remediation. Conclusions: The findings from this study will greatly advance an already preferred landfarming oil spill recovery technique in the Niger Delta.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chioma Blaise Chikere ◽  
Memory Tekere ◽  
Rasheed Adeleke

Abstract Background: The frequency of crude oil pollution has been on the increase following increased exploration, exploitation and production of energy from fossil fuel. Bioremediation has been shown to be eco-friendly and cost-effective method of oil spill remediation. In the Niger Delta, Landfarming has been the most used technique. The aim of this research was to employ metagenomic techniques to understand microbial dynamics during field-scale remediation in the Niger Delta in order to improve and reduce the time of remediation. Results: The surface (0.0 – 0.5m) sample had an extractable TPH value of 6231 mg/kg. The subsurface samples from 1m, 1.5m and 2.0m depths had extractable TPH concentration of 4836 mg/kg, 9112 mg/kg and 7273 mk/kg respectively. Proteobacteria dominated the soil microbial profile in all the samples studied as it made up at least 50% of each sample and mostly comprised of the class Alphaproteobacteria with variation only on day 18 and 36 which was mostly dominated by the class Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria. Alpha diversity analysis revealed the presence of crude oil in the soil reduced microbial diversity. Principal coordinate analysis showed the microbial structure continually changed following changes in the chemical composition of the soil. Mycobacterium, Burkholderia, Rhodoplanes, Methylobacterium and Bacillus were the core OTUs detected during the period of remediation. Significant variation in pathway abundance particularly pathways for propanoate degradation, benzoate degradation, naphthalene degradation, fatty acid metabolism, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation and degradation of xenobiotics were observed when the unpolluted soil was compared to the samples obtained during remediation. Conclusions: The findings from this study will greatly advance an already preferred landfarming oil spill recovery technique in the Niger Delta.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-93
Author(s):  
Etiese Etuk ◽  
Kingsley C. Ogboi ◽  
C. A. Nwadinigwe ◽  
Wali Elekwachi

The Niger Delta region has witnessed environmental pollution arising from oil activities over the years of oil exploration and production. Soil fertility in both the Lowland Forest Ecological Zone and Island Forest Ecological Zone were investigated to establish the consequences of oil pollution on the soil and remedial actions to restore back quality and fertility of the soil. A suitable cost effective and environmentally friendly technology to handle the pollutions in the Niger Delta region can be found in Remediation by Enhanced Natural Attenuation Process (ENAP) which facilitates the activities of microorganisms to biodegrade the hydrocarbon impacted soil. The study compared the bio-physicochemical parameters of the oil spill polluted soil with particular reference to areas of oil production of the two Ecological Systems with those of the unaffected soil as well as their response to bioremediation interventions using ENAP. The results demonstrated significant decrease in the values of the key indicator parameter, the Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH). But for the unenhanced process, the result showed low level of reduction of TPH values for the polluted soils. A degradation trend was demonstrated with time leading to significant TPH reductions and improved key soil fertility indices. The result showed that the level of the nutrient status of soil in the region can be improved through the natural attenuation process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-124
Author(s):  
V.C Wokem ◽  
E.D. Momoh

The exploration, production and refining of crude oil has led to severe environmental degradation in the oil producing communities of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Enhanced bioremediation of tropical rainforest soil artificially polluted with crude oil, bioaugmented with nitrogen fixing bacteria (NFB) and biostimulated with poultry droppings was carried out ex situ. Soil sample was collected at 15cm depth from tropical rainforest soil of the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The NFB was isolated from roots of leguminous plant Arachis hypogea, identified as Nitrobacter species. Bioaugmentation by application of NFB served as option A, option B (biostimulation by application of poultry droppings), option C (No amendment) served as the control. Bioremediation was monitored for 28 days for interval of 14 days, and determined using the percentage ratio of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) losses for each period to TPH at initial day (day zero). Results of total culturable heterotrophic bacterial (TCHB) counts showed that highest range in option B (1.9×104- 2.4×109Cfu/g) than in option A (7.8×106 -2.29×107Cfu/g) and C (6.75×106 -2.6×107Cfu/g) respectively. Similarly, hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial (HUB) counts had higher range in option B (1.20×105 - 1.9×107Cfu/g) than in option A (8.30×104 - 2.30×105Cfu/g) and option C control (4.3×104 −1.69×105 Cfu/g) respectively. Changes in physicochemical parameters during the study showed reductions in nitrate, phosphate and TPH in all the options expect pH which showed slight increase in option C (6.20-6.24). Characterization and identification for bacteria revealed the following HUB genera Pseudomonas, Citrobacter, Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus, Klebsiella, Staphylocuccus and Nitrobacter). The percentage losses in TPH from gas chromatography (GC) results showed the following; option A (44.24%) option B (61.08%) and option C - control (27.28%) respectively. The results from this study showed that option B, the application of poultry droppings as biostimulant was more efficient than the application of NFB in enhanced bioremediation of crude oil polluted soil, hence the use of poultry droppings which is available as organic waste, eco-friendly and cost-effective is recommended asbiostimulant for enhanced bioremediation in environmental cleanup of crude oil impacted-sites of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Key Words: Bioremediation, Crude oil polluted-soil, Biostimulation, Bioaugumentation, Poultry droppings, Nitrogen fixing bacteria.


Author(s):  
H. A. Umar ◽  
M. F. Abdul Khanan ◽  
A. Ahmad ◽  
M. J. Sani ◽  
M. Z. Abd Rahman ◽  
...  

Abstract. The effects of oil spills in the Niger Delta has caused unending menace to the quality of drinking water in most wells and boreholes of the area as most of the wells are shallow and are susceptible to contamination due to the nature of its Geology. The aim of this paper is to develop a database on how oil spills affects water quality which is one of the most crucial resources in the Niger Delta. The study uses existing oil spills data to show the areas and extent of oil pollution in the Niger Delta. Geospatial analysis was used to design an oil spill data base comprising the logical, physical, and conceptual data base design. Visio was used for the design of the entity relationship (ER) diagram of the study. The Kernel density and Getis-Ord G* statistic were used in GIS to map the oil spill areas in the region. Results of spatial spill distribution from the Kernel density and Getis-Ord G* statistic revealed that three states of the Niger Delta namely, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta states are the hottest spots for oil spill occurrences and distribution. The ER chart showed the relationships between the pollution sources, their pathways, and the receptors. The ER diagram developed could be of significance to environmentalists and other stakeholders in understanding the processes through which contaminants get to the various compartments of the earth system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 211 ◽  
pp. 02013
Author(s):  
W. Kamal M. Mahindapala

In September 2020, two major fires broke out in a large crude oil tanker in Sri Lanka’s maritime zones. An island with a vast sea area in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka, is prone to vessel sourced pollution. Crude oil can have a damaging impact on the environment, and therefore tracking the spill in the water is essential. Spaceborne sensors support monitoring oil pollution; however, optical sensors need clear skies for observation. The detection of pollution caused by vessels; in Sri Lanka’s maritime zones has previously been investigated by the author. This study examines the data collected by the Sentinel-1 satellite, whose sensing corresponds to the oil spill event, manually and using algorithms to detect the presence of oil spills. Two detected oil spill areas were measured to be 0.6 km and 1.4 km long. Further, in this study, the SAR sensor’s vertical signal transmission and reception mode produced acceptable results in detecting the spills and the vessel. Sentinel-1 SAR data is essential, in this case, to detect the presence of the oil spills and the vessels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-483
Author(s):  
Ndidiamaka Chijioke ◽  
Susan Audu-Bako ◽  
Ikechukwu Uwakwe

The discovery of crude oil in Oloibiri-a town in the present Bayelsa state, Niger-Delta region of Nigeria) in 1956 and the subsequent exploration activities have over the years impacted tremendously not only on the ecosystem and livelihood pattern of the Niger Delta but on the pattern of conflicts that has trended.. While resources accruable to Nigeria from sale of crude oil are shared by all, the impacts of oil spill an offshoot of crude oil exploration activities are borne solely by the Niger Delta region. Oil spill appears to have found a permanent abode in Bayelsa state; from Southern Ijaw to Sagbama local governments, Olodiama to Azuzuama communities. Local communities are faced with the problem of continuous oil spill. This in turn has brought about conflicts between oil bearing communities and oil companies. These conflicts in some instances led to shut down of operations of oil companies, vandalism, and reduction of Nigeria’s crude export. In view of the illustrated background, this study examined the strategies for management of oil spill related conflicts in Bayelsa state regarding that oil spill is a key impact of crude oil exploration activity. Findings revealed that the strategies deployed in the management of oil spill in the state can be categorised into three: community strategies, regulators and non-governmental organisations strategies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deinkuro Nimisngha Sanchez ◽  
Charles W. Knapp ◽  
Raimi Morufu Olalekan ◽  
Nimlang Henry Nanalok

Abstract Background: Over the years, the issue of environmental degradation of ecological resources from crude oil pollution and its human health impacts is receiving more global attention. The utilization of environmental models capable of predicting the fate, transport and toxicity of chemicals in spilled crude oil can provide essential knowledge required to deal with the complexity associated with the fate of volatile petroleum chemicals in the environment. Objective: This paper explores environmental fate of toxic volatile organics from oil spill in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.Methods: A critical analysis of available literatures/data from PubMed, Scopus, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, Jstor, including expert working group reports and environmental modeling using a screening tool (USEPA EPI Suite™) was carried out to determine the environmental partitioning of Benzene, Toluene and Naphthalene (BTN) respectively. The organic-carbon partitioning coefficient (Koc) was computed as a function of soil-water distribution coefficient (Kd) and percentage organic matter (%OM). This was utilized to determine the distribution of BTN in the environment and the possible risk posed on delicate ecological resources from crude oil pollution due to exploration and production activities within the Niger Delta Region (NDR), Nigeria. Results: Results from literature implicated sabotage and operational failures from pipelines as primary causes of crude oil spillages. Generation of a fugacity model using EPI Suite™ revealed that the behavior of BTN is greatly influenced by Koc values. The default Molecular Connectivity Index (MCI) showed that benzene and toluene will partition more into the water compartment while naphthalene will partition into the soil compartment. However, user-entered values showed all three chemicals partitioning more into the soil compartment. Aquatic toxicology estimation using Ecological Structural Activity Relationship (ECOSAR) revealed all chemicals not to be toxic even at over-estimated Koc values. Conclusion: This research established the usefulness of screening level environmental modelling tools in assessing environmental risk and hence helpful in developing site-specific models for monitoring chemicals in the environment which can assist governments, policy makers and industries in the design of appropriate regional disaster management plans.


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