Abstract.
Phytoremediation is the use of plants and its associated microorganisms to achieve the conditions necessary to facilitate the breakdown of contaminants and clean-up of the polluted environment. Phytoremediation technology is viewed as the simplest way of handling variety of contaminants in many sectors of oil industry.
The community of microorganisms in the rhizosphere has been shown to be involved in degradation of numerous contaminants, including pesticides, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum compounds, volatile organic chemicals, and in organics. Also, plants can degrade contaminants during plant metabolic activities; for instance, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene has been shown to be degraded by plant enzymes. Plants can use contaminants as nutrients; nitrate contamination of ground water can serve as a nitrogen source for plants.
This involves the achieving condition of ground water, waste oil and produced water from oil facilities.
Phytoremediation is recommended because of its establishment at low -cost and with flexibility in wide aspect of soil environmental remediation. Practical field experiments and laboratory water quality test analysis carried out in an oil field in TharJath-south Sudan by using reed species called Phragmites australis has shown promising results.
It is common perennial grasses that thrive best in wetlands and temperate tropical part of the world. Southern part of the Sudan being temperate and tropical region is suitable for this reed species to thrive well. This Thesis provides a real analytical test and report on the effective clean up of the polluted environment by the use of reed plants through phytoremediation process. Hence will encourage future studies on remediation of the contaminated soil.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction and background
1.1 Research Hypothesis
1.2 Study Area
1.3 Reed beds establishment
1.4 Parameters measurement and Frequency of the test analysis
Chapter 2: Water quality and laboratory testing for Chemical Oxygen demand (COD) sample test
2.1 pH , Temperature test and Biological Oxygen Demand(BOD)
2.2 Sodium ions concentration (Na+) ions
Chapter 3: Data analysis and presentation
3.1 Monitoring and mentoring
Chapter 4: Problems solving and presentations
4.1 Conclusions of Research and significance of future plans
Research Objectives and Topics
This thesis examines the effectiveness of phytoremediation using Phragmites australis reeds as a sustainable and cost-effective method for treating petroleum-produced wastewater in the TharJath oil field, South Sudan, to ensure environmental compliance.
- Evaluation of phytoremediation as a sustainable treatment technology for oil field wastewater.
- Monitoring of water quality parameters including COD, BOD, pH, and dissolved oil concentrations.
- Assessment of reed bed health and biological growth performance in contaminated substrates.
- Integration of scientific monitoring to ensure treated water meets environmental discharge standards.
- Development of future strategies for managing petroleum waste via plant-based bioremediation.
Excerpt from the Book
Chapter 1. Introduction and background.
Phytoremediation natural process to clean up the polluted environment from pollutants or contaminants is the focal point in an emerging technology .Such pollutants or contaminants range from metals such as Zinc ions, sodium ions, chlorides, radionuclide, chemicals from oil treatment processes such as demulsifier and reverse demulsifiers. The selected plant species for this technology is reed (Phragmites australis). It’s a perennial plant that can thrive well in wetland with minimum sunlight as will be discussed in chapter 2. Petroleum wastes are documented to naturally degrade in natural wetland environments (Wemple &Hendricks, 2000). The microbial community associated with the plant rhizosphere creates an environment conducive to degradation of many volatile organic compounds (Schnoor et al., 1995; Pardue et al., 2000). Subsurface flow constructed wetlands (CWs) have been used to treat petroleum wastewaters (Knight et al.,1999).Field trials have shown successful removal of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants by in situ remediation (Cunnigham et al. 2001). Aromatic hydrocarbons, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, trimethylbenzene) and MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) are groundwater contaminants at a former refinery site in Leuna (Germany).
The use of reeds for the treatment of sewage was first investigated in Germany by Seidel and Kickuth in the 1960’s. Since then, about 500 reed bed treatment systems have been constructed in Western Europe since 1984. In general, the experiences gained in the years since, show that Biochemical Oxygen Demand removal (BOD) is 80 to 90%, with typical outlet concentrations of 20 ppm.
Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1: Introduction and background: This chapter introduces phytoremediation as a cost-effective technology for treating petroleum-contaminated water and establishes the study's scope in the TharJath oil field.
Chapter 2: Water quality and laboratory testing for Chemical Oxygen demand (COD) sample test: This section details the laboratory procedures and instrumentation used to measure water quality parameters, focusing on COD, BOD, and pH levels.
Chapter 3: Data analysis and presentation: This chapter presents the results of daily water sampling and analysis, evaluating the efficiency of the reed beds in reducing hydrocarbon contaminants.
Chapter 4: Problems solving and presentations: The final chapter discusses the scientific significance of the findings and suggests future research directions, including heavy metal removal and biomass processing.
Keywords
Phytoremediation, Phragmites australis, petroleum wastewater, bioremediation, COD, BOD, water quality, TharJath, environmental remediation, rhizosphere, hydrocarbon degradation, Sudan, reed beds, contamination, oil production
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research focuses on the application of phytoremediation using reed plants to clean up polluted water resulting from petroleum production activities in South Sudan.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The work covers environmental engineering, water quality analysis, bioremediation technologies, and plant biology in the context of petroleum waste management.
What is the primary goal of the study?
The primary goal is to validate the effectiveness of reed beds in treating oil-contaminated wastewater so that it can be safely returned to the environment.
Which scientific methods were applied?
The study uses field experiments in the TharJath oil field, involving daily monitoring and laboratory analysis of water quality parameters like COD, BOD, pH, and electrical conductivity.
What is covered in the main body?
The main body details the experimental setup, the specific laboratory testing procedures for water contaminants, and the presentation of experimental data tracked over several months.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Phytoremediation, Petroleum wastewater, Bioremediation, COD, BOD, and Reed beds.
How does the author define the role of the rhizosphere?
The rhizosphere is described as a critical environment where associated microorganisms and root exudates work together to break down contaminants into less harmful substances.
Why are Phragmites australis plants selected for this project?
These reeds are perennial grasses that thrive in wetlands, have excellent adaptability to local tropical conditions in Southern Sudan, and demonstrate strong effectiveness in degrading organic contaminants.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Ochan Stephen (Autor:in), 2011, Phytoremediation in reed plants treat and clean up polluted environment by petroleum produced water , München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/182962
