Assessment on phytoremediation of crude oil polluted soils with Achillea Millefolium and total Petroleum Hydrocarbons removal efficiency

Abstract

The study presents experimental data on phytostabilization/ phytoremediation of 5.57% total petroleum hydrocarbons contaminated soils, using plants of the Achillea millefolium species. Studies have been conducted on pots placed in outdoors in three experimental variants in the absence/presence of an additional treatment: 1. Contaminated soil; 2. Contaminated soil treated with fertilizer agent, stabilized sewage sludge; 3. Contaminated soil treated with fertilizer and amendment based on indigenous volcanic tuff with clinoptilolite. After five months of growth the plant roots have formed a strong twinned network throughout the vegetation soils of volume pots. The content reduction of the total petroleum products in the contaminated soil was 45.4% and 65.4% for the variant of contaminated soil treated with fertilizer agents, anaerobically stabilized sewage sludge from the municipal treatment plant in the absence/presence of the amendment with indigenous volcanic tuff. Soil polluted with petroleum hydrocarbons does not reduce the total content of phenols and antioxidant capacity of Achillea millefolium crop; rather it can be boosted when the soil is treated with stabilized sewage sludge and indigenous volcanic tuff.