Impregnation of Wood with Waste Engine Oil to Increase Water- and Bio-Resistance

Impregnation is a common method of protecting wood from external influences. This study proposes the use of spent engine oil as an impregnating composition for modifying birch wood to make it resistant to biological degradation and water. The indicators of water resistance and dimensional stability of wood such as wetting contact angle, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and biodegradation tests have been determined. It has been found that treatment with spent engine oil significantly increases the dimensional stability (56.8% and 45.7% in tangential and radial directions) and water-resistant indicators of wood. Thermogravimetric analysis has showed that the curves for the impregnated specimens were different from the control group and had two sharp peaks at 302 and 357 °C. However, FTIR indicated that no clear chemical reactions occur between spent engine oil and wood. A study on wood resistance to biological degradation has showed a significant increase in resistance against brown rot (Poria placenta fungi) in the treated specimens, in contrast to the control group. Thus, impregnation of wood with spent engine oil makes it possible to increase wood resistance to water and biological degradation.

Phytoremediation of Spent Oil and Palm Kernel Sludge Contaminated Soil Using Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) L

This study was carried out to investigate the phytotoxicity of spent engine oil and palm kernel sludge on seed germination, seedling early growth and survival of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L) and its phytoremediating potential. 8.0 kg topsoil mixed with 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% (w/v) of spent engine oil and palm kernel sludge, while the control was not mixed with spent oil and sludge (0%). The seeds were sown on these soils and monitored daily. Parameters taken were; plant height, leaf number and stem girth. The result showed that spent engine oil treated plants adversely affected growth compared to palm kernel sludge plants and control which performed better. For plant height, the mean stem girth for control at 2nd week was 0.40±0.05 mm, spent engine oil was 5.96±0.97 palm kernel oil effluent was 14.73±1.16 and at 12th week, control was 1.30±0.05 while for SEO the plant had withered and 124.6±9.02 for POE. Number of leaves at the 12th week was 26.00±2.08 in the control, 8.66±0.66, for spent engine oil at 4%, while for palm oil effluent it was 27.66±0.66, at 4%, concentration respectively. Stem girth at 2 weeks for spent engine oil was 0.19±0.05 at 2%, 0.43±0.03 for palm kernel oil effluent and at the 12th week of planting at 10% concentration was 1.63±0.08 for palm kernel oil effluent, and all plants had withered off for spent engine oil at same concentration at the 12th week. Also, spent engine oil at all concentrations delayed the germination of Helianthus annuus by 2days compared to control. Comparison analysis test showed that growth in untreated plants were significantly higher (p>0.05) than spent oil and palm kernel sludge treated plants. Similar result was observed for leaf number and stem girth which had higher mean value in palm kernel sludge and control compared to spent oil. Sunflower grown in 8% and 10% palm kernel sludge contaminated soil also flowered eight days earlier than control plants, while spent oil treated plant did not. The result shows that sunflower cannot tolerate high (4%, 6%, 8% and 10%) concentrations of spent engine oil in soil compared to palm oil effluent. Therefore, spent engine oil should be properly disposed because of its adverse effect on the growth and yield of sunflower.

Effects Of Spent Engine Oil On Soil Characteristics And Selected Phytochemicals In Amaranthus Hybridus

Spent engine oil is hazardous to the environment. Indiscriminate disposal of spent engine oil drain from engines after servicing has been found to affect the environment. An experiment was carried out to determine the effect of spent engine oil pollution on soil characteristics and the ability of Amaranthushybridusto thrive in the soil supplemented with varying concentrations of spent engine oil ranging from 50- 300 mL. Soil pH was slightly increased due to spent engine oil pollution. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were reduced in the polluted soils and the soil organic carbon was increased. Soil samples polluted with spent engine oil showed increased bulk and particle densities and also decreased water holding capacity and porosity. The spent engine oil pollution affected the phytochemicals and resulted in the increased concentration of anti- nutrient tannin and decreased concentrations of nutrients like alkaloids, flavonoids, etc. The results of this study suggest that spent engine oil at any concentration seriously affects the soil properties and phytochemical analysis showed the inhibitory effects of spent engine oil on Amaranthushybridus.

Bio-enhanced removal of hydrocarbon contents from spent engine oil contaminated soil using Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus co-culture

The study assessed the removal of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from spent engine oil (SEO) contaminated soil through bioenhancement of bacteria isolated from SEO polluted soil. Sterilized soil was subjected to a three level of SEO contamination before the addition of sterilized biostimulants including powdered cow dung (CD), powdered cocoa pod husk (CPH) and compost (made from fresh CPH and CD). Bacterial inoculum being Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus co-culture (150 mL) was added to the mixture in polyethylene bags. It was a factorial experiment that was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD). The TPH and PAHs were estimated in the first day, fifth week and the tenth week that the room incubation lasted. Results generated from the influence of biostimulants on TPH and PAHs degradation potential of the bacterial co-culture showed that degradation of the hydrocarbon contents was significantly enhanced (p < 0.05). At the tenth week, compost enhanced the most TPH reductions (315 and 380 mg kg–1) compared with other biostimulants on 5% and 15% SEO contamination levels, respectively. Compost equally enhanced the most PAHs reductions (48.8, 39.6 and 94.6 mg kg–1) compared with other biostimulants on 5%, 10% and 15% SEO contamination levels respectively. However, the quantity of SEO contents degraded was significantly higher in the bioaugmented and biostimulated soil samples compared with the control employed. The technology adopted in this study can be effectively employed for the bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon related pollution.

Bioremediation of Soil Contaminated with Spent Engine Oil using Pig Dung

Studies were carried out to investigate the bioremediation potential of pig dung in a soil contaminated with spent engine oil. Soil samples were obtained from the Ofrima complex, University of Port Harcourt. The soil samples were contaminated with various concentrations (50 ml and 100 ml) of spent engine oil and allowed for 21 days for proper exposure, mimicking natural spill. This was followed by the addition of the pig dung. The experimental setup was labeled sample A (1 kg soil + 100 g pig dung + 50 ml spent engine oil) and sample B (1 kg soil + 100 g pig dung + 100 ml spent engine oil). The physicochemical parameters and the microbiological analysis were done using standard methods. The total petroleum hydrocarbon was analyzed using gas chromatographic methods. Analyses were carried out at 14 days intervals for 28 days. The physicochemical parameter results showed a reduction in pH values in the contaminated soil samples, ranging from 6.21 - 6.65 in sample A and 6.57 - 6.87 in sample B. Temperature values were constant at 230C from day 1 to day 14 in sample A and increased at day 28 to 24 0C, also for sample B, the temperature was constant at 230C from day 1 to day14 and increased at day 28 to 26 0C. The amount of heavy metal (Lead) content decreased from 4.3645 - 1.93676 (mg/kg) and 6.18361 - 3.89654 (mg/kg) for samples A and B, respectively. There was also a significant reduction in the amount of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon, from 16631.86 - 3280.83 mg/kg for sample A and 18464.73 - 6784.60 mg/kg for sample B. The THB counts for samples A and B ranged from 7.73 - 7.91 and 7.05-8.20 (Log cfu/g), respectively. The fungal counts ranged from 3.99–4.58 and 5.12 - 7.93 (Log cfu/g) for samples A and B respectively. HUB counts ranged from 4.52–5.09 and 4.93- 5.55 (Log cfu/g) for samples A and B, respectively. The HUF counts ranged from 4.12 - 5.49 and 4.13 - 4.70 (Log cfu/g) for samples A and B, respectively. The results clearly showed that microorganisms capable of utilizing total petroleum hydrocarbon were present, also the pig dung showed both bio-stimulation and bio-augmentation tendency to attract high microbial load which supported the bioremediation of the spent engine oil contaminated soil.

The Environmental Impact Assessment of the Spent Engine Oil Recycling Plant by using Leopold Matrix: Case Study Recycling Plant in Al-Diwaniyah City – Iraq

The study achieve to make an environmental impact assessment for a spent engine oil recycling plant in AL-Diwaniyah city – Iraq. The assessment has been carried out using Leopold matrix. The studied plant deals with the bentonite clay as adsorbent material for removing the impurities from spent oil. The waste of bentonite clay which has been discharged as by- product waste without any minimal level of remediation which is harmful to the all environmental components in addition to that, the plant discharges air pollutants during the operation. Leopold matrix is a simple method in terms of applying and using, it can be used easily for a comparison among different projects and gives clarified results. Moreover, the significant characteristic is its ability to covering biological, physical, economic and social environment. From the results of Leopold matrix analysis, it can be observed that the maximum impact of the plant was on physical components in both quantity and importance, while there are some positive impacts on social components. Generally, all the impacts that caused from the plant is low on the environment by the comparison with maximum locally index of environmental impact value.