Full-scale bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soils via integration of co-composting

• Published in: Journal of soils and sediments 2022-08, Vol.22 (8), p.2209-2218
• Main Authors: Parnian, Amir, Parnian, Amin, Pirasteh-Anosheh, Hadi, Furze, James Nicholas, Prasad, Majeti Narasimha Vara, Race, Marco, Hulisz, Piotr, Ferraro, Alberto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aeration; Anthropogenic factors; Biological activity; Bioremediation; Chromatography; Climatic conditions; Composting; Composts; Contaminants; Drilling; Drought; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecosystem recovery; Environment; Environmental Physics; Gas chromatography; Hydrophobicity; Oil; Oil and gas operations; Oil exploration; Oil pollution; Organic materials; Organic soils; Organic wastes; Pest control; Petroleum; Petroleum hydrocarbons; Piles; Pollution dispersion; Refineries; Repellency; Repellents; Saccharides; Saline soils; Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article; Soil; Soil contamination; Soil investigations; Soil pollution; Soil quality; Soil remediation; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil water; Soils; Sugar; Sugar industry; Sugarcane; Sustainable development; Urea
• ISSN: 1439-0108; 1614-7480
• DOI: 10.1007/s11368-022-03229-5

Purpose Pollution from oil operations; exploration, drilling, transfer, transport, refinery and distribution reduce soil quality, and results in the removal of a large amount of soil from annual utilization cycles. Soil quality is an essential asset of sustainable development and is negatively affected by erosion and anthropogenic activity. Co-composting is a biological technique used in the bioremediation of soils, which was investigated in this study. Materials and methods This study focused on the remediation of 1200 m 3 of saline contaminated soil from an oil-polluted operational area in Iran. The initial total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content of the soil was between 6.9 and 17.1 g kg −1 and was contaminated with heavy oil. Initial water repellency of the soil was between 1500 and 12,500 S. The remediation procedure commenced with trials in which organic waste of a local sugarcane sugar factory, mixed urea, sugar, and compost mixtures was added to contaminated soils. Results After irrigation and aeration of piles of organic materials and soil over 3 months of operation, the TPH reduced from 4.86, 6.52, and 9.89 to 0.068, 0.080, and 0.109 g kg −1 , in the moderately, highly, and very highly polluted soil piles respectively. At the end of the remediation project, following gas chromatography analysis of contaminant content, and in accordance with governmental authorities, recovered soils were added to the surrounding environment to the support growth of the natural ecosystem. Conclusion Soil recovery and remediation utilizing valorization and complimentary local industries have a transferable quality that may be adapted to additional vulnerable sites in droughted and variable edaphic and climatic conditions.