September 19, 2024
How Bioclean FOG is the Best Solution for Bioremediation of Oil in Soil
Oil pollution can cause soil contamination when petroleum products reach the soil through incidents of spills, leakages, or transportation.
It adversely affects the natural soil environment, disturbs the health of plants, and inhibits plant growth.
The degree of saturated hydrocarbons, volatile components, and aromatic compounds in oil makes it difficult for the oil to be degraded naturally in soil.
Effects of Oil Spill
- Oil spills cause soil destruction, rendering it unsuitable for agriculture.
- Properties like soil texture, pH, and moisture content of the soil are affected.
- A huge amount of oil spill can make the harmful compounds pass into groundwater, nearby rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Thus, it can pollute drinking water and harm fish, birds, and animals.
- Oil Spills can cause health hazards to human beings.
It is, therefore, necessary to treat oil spills in soil and protect the environment.
Organica Biotech’s Bioclean FOG is a natural soil nutrient, available in powder form, which contains actively growing, specialized microbial strains that release specific enzymes.
It enhances microbial activity in the soil and facilitates effective oil degradation, yielding by-products such as carbon dioxide and water.
The following case study demonstrates how Bioclean FOG is a powerful, cost-effective, and eco-friendly solution for bioremediating oil in the soil.
Case Study: How Bioclean FOG is the Best Solution
Challenge
One of our clients, Dilex Limited in Nigeria, was engaged by the Ogoni Restoration Project team of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
The challenge was to use an environment-friendly approach for the remediation of hydrocarbon-impacted areas.
The site, located in B_Dere, was previously used for artisanal refining.
The goal was to remediate oil hydrocarbons to acceptable regulatory levels.
To achieve this goal, Dilex Ltd. used our product Bioclean FOG.
Another objective of the project was to demonstrate the capability of Bioclean FOG.
Solution
How did Bioclean FOG help?
Bioclean FOG cleans up the oil in 3 steps:
- Bio-remediation – In this step, Bioclean FOG increases the activity of naturally occurring beneficial microbes in the soil, which in turn treat petroleum hydrocarbons and organic contaminants.
- Bio-degradation – The beneficial microbes degrade the complex hydrocarbons into simpler forms.
- Bio-augmentation – Further effective degradation is achieved by adding Bioclean FOG, which develops a bio-population in the spillage area.
The following steps were taken to utilize Bioclean FOG at the affected site, which had a high concentration of hydrocarbons in the soil.
- STEP 1– Soil Preparation
First, the contaminated soil with hydrocarbons was tilled to a depth of 5 meters.
This was done to loosen the soil and allow the aeration process to take place, which in turn helped Bioclean FOG to be more effective.
Soil samples were collected after soil preparation, and the initial Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) was noted.
- STEP 2 – Bioclean FOG Addition
Bioclean FOG was added to the soil along with a limited quantity of urea (Nitrogen) and NPK (Phosphate).
To monitor the progression and effectiveness of bioremediation, TPH tests were conducted every 15 days, 30 days, or as specified by the SPDC.
- STEP 3 – Excavation of Soil
The periodic turning of soil was done with an excavator to a depth of 5 meters. This, in turn, activated the enzymes that effectively broke down the hydrocarbons.
- STEP 4 – Water and Bioclean FOG Delivery
The activated enzyme solution of Bioclean FOG was pumped using a diesel pump or sprinkled on the soil. In the repeat processes, Bioclean FOG was again reintroduced using a diesel pump.
Results
- The effectiveness of Bioclean FOG was immediately observed through a laboratory test of soil. The soil sample taken at different stages of the project was analysed. It showed a progressive reduction of hydrocarbons from the area that was heavily contaminated with hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbon contamination was reduced to as low as reasonably practicable. Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) content in the soil was brought from an initial maximum concentration of 35,283.20 mg/kg to a final concentration of 869 mg/kg.
- After two weeks of the final application of Bioclean FOG, rapidly growing grass was observed on the project site.
The results proved the effectiveness of Bioclean FOG for oil spills and bioremediation of soil contamination.
It is, therefore, recommended for faster, more efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective treatment of oil spills in land areas, as well as a solution to protect the environment.
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