Landfarmed oil sludge as a carbon source for Canavalia ensiformis during phytoremediation

Petroleum exploitation in oilfields, especially drilling, generates an oily sludge mixed with hydrocarbons and mineral solids. This oily sludge is sometimes treated by bioremediation and phytoremediation. This investigation established that landfarmed oil sludge provided adequate soil conditions to grow jack beans (Canavalia ensiformis) that in turn rhizo- and phytoremediated residual aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in the soil. Landfarming oily sludge adequately reduced jack bean phytotoxicity. Rhizo- and phytodegradation reduced total petroleum hydrocarbons by 57.38 % during 4 months of growing jack beans. Aliphatic hydrocarbons were detected in the roots but not in the aerial parts. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were translocated to the roots, stems, leaves, and beans, requiring successive cropping to manage all risks associated with some aromatic hydrocarbons found such as: acenaphthylene, anthracene, pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, and benzo(a)pyrene. Landfarming and phytoremediation, perhaps with successive crops, holds the promise of providing inexpensive management of extensive oily wastes when sufficient land is available.