Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOREMEDIATION
Volume 11, Issue 5, Pages 441-450Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
DOI: 10.1080/15226510802655971
Keywords
biodegradation; compost age; nitrogen concentration; phytoremediation; total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)
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Funding
- Petro-Canada
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada
- Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI)
- Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Alberta Ingenuity postdoctoral fellowship
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Hydrocarbon-contaminated wastes generated from oil and gas drilling activities may be used as a soil amendment once composted and further decomposition of residual hydrocarbons can be accomplished after the composts are applied to soils. To test if N fertilization may enhance hydrocarbon decomposition, we investigated the effects of N application on hydrocarbon degradation in different-aged composts (1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old composts, coded as 1Y, 2Y, 3Y, and 4Y composts, respectively) through a pot experiment planted with white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss) seedlings. The percentage degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH, C11 to C40) in the composts without N fertilization was correlated to initial NH4+ concentrations (R = 0.99, P < 0.001). The percentage degradation of TPH was highest in the 3Y compost (41.1%) that had an initial level of 325.3 mg NH4+-N kg(-1) and the lowest in the 1Y compost (9.3%) that had an initial level of 8.3 mg NH4+-N kg-1. The degradation of TPH was enhanced by N fertilization in the 1Y (from 9.3 to 15.3%) and 4Y composts (from 14.3 to 22.6%) that had low initial NH4+ concentrations. Our results show that application of NH4+-based fertilizers may enhance the degradation of TPH when initial NH4+ concentrations in the compost are low.
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