Accumulation of Hydrocarbons by Maize (Zea mays L.) in Remediation of Soils Contaminated with Crude Oil

Abstract

This study has investigated the use of screened maize for remediation of soil contaminated with crude oil. Pots experiment was carried out for 60 days by transplanting maize seedlings into spiked soils. The results showed that certain amount of crude oil in soil (≤2 147 mg·kg⁻¹) could enhance the production of shoot biomass of maize. Higher concentration (6 373 mg·kg⁻¹) did not significantly inhibit the growth of plant maize (including shoot and root). Analysis of plant shoot by GC-MS showed that low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in maize tissues, but PAHs concentration in the plant did not increase with higher concentration of crude oil in soil. The reduction of total petroleum hydrocarbon in planted soil was up to 52.21–72.84%, while that of the corresponding controls was only 25.85–34.22% in two months. In addition, data from physiological and biochemical indexes demonstrated a favorable adaptability of maize to crude oil pollution stress. This study suggested that the use of maize (Zea mays L.) was a good choice for remediation of soil contaminated with petroleum within a certain range of concentrations.

Keywords:

• phytoremediation
• PAHs; Maize
• crude oil
• soil contamination

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Guangzhou Department of Sinopec Corporation, China for providing the crude oil and Dr. Donald Barnes for language editing on the manuscript. In addition, special thanks to anonymous reviewers for their critical comments.