Enhanced Biostimulation of Soil Artificially Polluted With Crude Oil after Amendment with Bovinefeaces Andgallus Gallus Domesticus (Chicken) Droppings (Published)
Environmental degradation as a result of oil spillage during extraction, processing, transportation and corrosion of pipeline or damage is one of the many disasters that have been caused by humans throughout history.The study investigates the influence of incorporating different types of organic waste in bioremediation of crude polluted soils. Five treatment levels of crude oil pollution (0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 ml) were used, while amendment treatments were done after two weeks. The different organic waste: chicken dropping (CD), bovine feaces (BF), chicken dropping + bovine feaces (CD + BF), with two sets of control: pollution + no amendment and no pollution + no amendment were used for this investigation. Results shows that the crude oil significantly affected the physicochemical properties of the soil.Two weeks after crude oil pollutiona decline in pH values was observed for all crude oil polluted soil with increased amount of crude oil. Other parameters that had notable reduction in values with increased crude oil volume include Calcium, Potassium and Phosphorus while percentage total organic carbon, total organic matter and total hydrocarbon content (THC) significantly increased. The results also showed that the organic manure amendment treatments significantly decreased crude oil toxicity at different degrees by improving the nutrient content and decreasing the total hydrocarbon content of the soil after 4 weeks of amendment. The results indicated the order of their remediation potential as CD+BF > CD > BF. The microbial composition of the CD and BF which could have contributed in the biodegradation process as identified using 16SrRNA sequencing include: Lysinibacillus sphaericus, Lysinibacillus fusiformis, Enterobacter cloacae, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Aspergillus niger and Enterobacter asburiae. Nucleotide sequences of the isolates retrieved from this study have been deposited in the GenBank nucleotide sequence database under accession nos. MT560691, MT500581, MT498090, MT500681 and MT500680 (NCBI GenBank, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Therefore, this study shows that the reduction of crude oil polluted soil using organic waste should be encourage and locally propagated for economic reasons.
Keywords: Soil, biostimulation, crude oil bovinefeaces, gallus gallus domesticus (chicken)
The Impact of Rock Crushing On the Quality of Air and Soil Within and Outside the Crushing Site (Published)
This study investigates the effect of rock crushing on Ishiagu environment in Enugu State, Nigeria. The quality of air dust and soil samples within and outside the crushing area was analyzed by taking samples of rock dust), soil and underground water. The amount of iron, zinc, copper, lead, cadmium, chromium and nickel were determined in the rock dust and soil samples collected within and outside the crushing sites. The results indicated that the concentration of metals in all samples were significant ranging from 1425-48180mg/kg in air dust sample, 120-44000mg/kg in soil samples while the metals in the underground water was seen to be decreasing as the distance from the crushing site increased .The underground water samples were observed to have high total dissolved solids (754,587 and 604) ppm respectively, total chloride and total hardness. All underground water samples were in excess of 150 mg/l total chloride with pH values between the ranges of 4.5 to 5.5 which is acidic.
Keywords: Concentration, Metals, Soil, Water, rock, rock dust
ENGINEERING PROPERTIES AND USES OF SOIL DERIVE FROM MAASTRITCHIAN AJALI FORMATION IN A PART OF SE NIGERIA (Published)
The study is necessitated by the recent move by Imo State government of Nigeria to raise Okigwe town to urban status. Ajali Formation being the prominent geological terrain in Okigwe area, most structures would be erected on the soil derived from it. The parameter measured include grain size, atterberg limits, and compaction, shear strength, permeability and porosity as well as bulk density. The result shows that the soil underlain by Ajali Formation within Okigwe area is sandy silt with low clay content and has plasticity index, bulk density, porosity and permeability values of 9.65%, 2.06%,kg/m3, 0.45 and 0.35cm/s respectively.The value for the optimum moisture content (OMC) maximum dry density(MDD) shear strength, angle of internal friction are 13.5%, 2.06kg/m3, 106.86KN/M2 and 28.4o. These values indicate that the soil derived from Maastrichtian Ajali Formation within Okigwe area of south eastern Nigeria is of high strength, porous and permeable and can be used as a recharge site for regional aquifer, but cannot be used as a waste disposal area or for road construction. The soil due to its low plasticity index with no swelling characteristics and high shear strength is a good site for building foundations, but cannot be used in dam construction. It is ideal for projects requiring good drainage and embankments. However, for the soil to be used in any engineering construction works, it has to be compacted to its maximum dry density value of 2.06kg/m3 within the range of optimum moisture content of 13.5% as to achieve maximum strength.
Keywords: Ajali Formation, Engineering Properties, Okigwe, SE Nigeria, Soil, Uses
Engineering Properties And Uses Of Soil Derive From Maastritchian Ajali Formation In A Part Of Se Nigeria (Review Completed - Accepted)
The study is necessitated by the recent move by Imo State government of Nigeria to raise Okigwe town to urban status. Ajali Formation being the prominent geological terrain in Okigwe area, most structures would be erected on the soil derived from it. The parameter measured include grain size, atterberg limits, and compaction, shear strength, permeability and porosity as well as bulk density. The result shows that the soil underlain by Ajali Formation within Okigwe area is sandy silt with low clay content and has plasticity index, bulk density, porosity and permeability values of 9.65%, 2.06%,kg/m3, 0.45 and 0.35cm/s respectively.
The value for the optimum moisture content (OMC) maximum dry density(MDD) shear strength, angle of internal friction are 13.5%, 2.06kg/m3, 106.86KN/M2 and 28.4o. These values indicate that the soil derived from Maastrichtian Ajali Formation within Okigwe area of south eastern Nigeria is of high strength, porous and permeable and can be used as a recharge site for regional aquifer, but cannot be used as a waste disposal area or for road construction. The soil due to its low plasticity index with no swelling characteristics and high shear strength is a good site for building foundations, but cannot be used in dam construction. It is ideal for projects requiring good drainage and embankments. However, for the soil to be used in any engineering construction works, it has to be compacted to its maximum dry density value of 2.06kg/m3 within the range of optimum moisture content of 13.5% as to achieve maximum strength.
Keywords: Ajali Formation, Engineering Properties, Okigwe, SE Nigeria, Soil, Uses