Development of model for bioremediation of crude oil using moringa extract

Chukwuemeka Peter Ukpaka

Abstract

Crude oil spillage on land is a major undeniable challenge we face in the Niger Delta, this is as a result of the oil exploration and exploitation activity done by the big oil multinationals and also those done by indigenous private firms, the petroleum could find its way to the soil via occurrences including pipeline leakages and explosions, corrosion of underground pipes transporting crude oil and petroleum product and also it could come purely in form of untreated industrial waste. As a result of the foregoing research work was conducted using Moringa leave extract, and the component of interest included phosphates, potassium and nitrogen which are the major stimulators of bioremediation, were found to be abundant in the Moringa Oleifera leave extract. The application of Moringa leave extract was found to be useful in the enhancing of crude oil polluted lands, and by so doing it facilitates the rehabilitation of the contaminated soil as well as reinstating the soil constituents for agricultural purposes. This is a new research investigation which show high efficiency in bioremediation program the maximum specific rate and the rate constants as well as they overall order of the bioremediation reaction were determined, using the principle of the rate laws as well as they Monod’s equation from which the line waver burke plot was obtained. Therefore the experiment as well as the theoretical model developed can be used to monitor, predict and simulate the rate of degradation of hydrocarbons present in a polluted soil undergoing bioremediation under the influence of Moringa Oleifera leave extract.