Phytoremediation of crude oil-polluted soil from Egbema Nigeria using Hibiscus cannabinus

Crude oil pollution is an environmental problem affecting different areas around the world. The continual use of crude oil and its combustion products impact our environment and human health negatively. Phytoremediation is a process with recorded success in remediation activities. Physicochemical properties of unpolluted agricultural soil (control) crude oil-polluted soil and Egbema polluted soils were analyzed using standard methods prior to and after 90 days planting of Hibiscus cannabinus. Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content of soil samples were analyzed using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Results show that sample A3 had the highest agronomic properties (number of leaves, fresh weight and total plant height) which corresponds to the highest percent remediation (46.01%) obtained in the study. This shows a correlation between biomass production and crude oil removal in the phytoremediation plant Hibiscus cannabinus. In addition, soil pH and moisture content increased from mean range 4.80-7.30 and 2.50-15.50% to mean range of 5.10-8.20 and 5.00-27.90% respectively showing remediation activity of polluted soils. Hibiscus cannabinus therefore offer great potential in crude oil remediation from Egbema polluted sites.