Dr Agiri Gabriel O's research grant

Lead Researcher

Title Dr
Firstname Gabriel
Middlename O
Surname Agiri
Phone 08037533966
Email agirigabriel@yahoo.com

Research Grant Details

Research Topic Immobilized Oil Degrading Micro-Organisms in local Cellulosic Materials for Rapid Deployment in Bioremediation of Petroleum Contaminated Soils
Benefit to Oil and Gas Provide locally sourced tools for easy clean-up of hydrocarbon contaminated soil. High investment in development and conservation of cellulosic material. The design of the reactor for the rapid deployment of Bio-enzymes completed. Bioremediation process is on-going on polluted sites.
Research Duration 2
University Petroleum Training Institute, Warri
Abstract The focus of this research is to produce and immobilize crude oil degrading microorganisms in a local cellulosic material (coconut fibre) and apply the immobilized product in the bioremediation of soil of contaminated with crude oil. Coconut fibres (carrier) were collected, processed and characterized for selected relevant parameters (physico-chemical properties) that makes it suitable as carrier for the crude oil degrading microorganisms. Crude oil degrading microorganisms were produced from the stock culture through enrichment method and characterized. A bioreactor was designed and locally fabricated. The crude oil microorganisms were mass produced by use of a bioreactor from the consortium of the three best crude oil degrader. Petroleum Hydrocarbon degrading bacteria were immobilized in coconut fibre which was applied in bioremediation of crude oil sludge/ drill cuttings contaminated soils. A parcel of land measuring 144 m2 contaminated with 380 litres of crude oil (Escravos light) was also treated. Two weeks after contamination, the land was tilled to a depth of 15cm with garden fork and a consortium of petroleum degrading bacteria immobilized in coconut fibres (ratio of 1:1) was applied to the soil. Soil samples were collected on a weekly interval for laboratory analysis of residue hydrocarbon content, physico-chemical properties, microbial count of the treated soil using Gas Chromatography (GC) and other methods of analysis. The results showed that about 91.29% of hydrocarbon content in the original crude oil was removed after seven weeks treatment. The percent of TPH, PAHS, BTEX degraded in the contaminated soil were 83.01%, 95.86%, and 95.02% respectively. Results obtained demonstrated the effectiveness of immobilized hydrocarbon degrader in treatment of polluted soil and crude oil/drill cutting.

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