Source and Control of Hydrocarbon Pollution

Abstract

Hydrocarbon contamination is of great worry because of their widespread effect on all forms of life. Pollution caused by increasing the use of crude oil is ordinary because of its extensive application and its related transport and dumping problems. Crude oil contains a complex mixture of aliphatic, aromatic, and heterocyclic compounds. Soil naturally consists of heavy metals, and due to human action like refining of oil and use of pesticides, their concentration in soil is rising. Several areas have such high heavy metal and metalloid concentration that surrounding natural ecosystem has been badly affected. The reason is that heavy metals and metalloids limit microbe's activity rendering it unsuitable for hydrocarbon degradation, thus reducing its effectiveness. Environmental remediation is thus extremely necessary and involves with the elimination of pollutants from soil, air, and water. In the last several decades, different methods have been employed and applied for the cleanup of our environment which includes mechanical, chemical, and biochemical remediation methods. The hydrocarbon pollution consists of many aspects like oil spills, fossil fuels, organic pollutants like aromatics, etc. that are discussed below.

Ecological and human health risk assessment of total petroleum hydrocarbons in surface water and sediment from Woji Creek in the Niger Delta Estuary of Rivers State, Nigeria

“…Anthropogenic processes such as urban waste, oil plants and refineries, oil waste, combustion of fossil compounds, industrial activities, etc. can also contribute to hydrocarbons in marine environment ( Srivastava et al., 2019 ). Although St4 also indicates the influence of natural input of hydrocarbon, there is a consistent and clear indication of a strong influence of petrogenic source input in the creek.…”

Advancement of Metatranscriptomics towards Productive Agriculture and Sustainable Environment: A Review

“…It is well known that the excessive application of pesticides to soil and crops may contribute to hydrocarbon pollution in soil [ 49 ]. Hydrocarbon pollution may restrict natural processes such as plant transpiration, respiration, and the photosynthetic rates.…”

Effects of Diesel, Heavy Metals and Plastics Pollution on Penguins in Antarctica: A Review

“…Meanwhile, research papers on microplastic pollution towards penguins are evenly divided (50%) between environmental science and multidisciplinary areas ( Figure 5 C). Environmental science is an interdisciplinary study area that is associated with biological and physical disciplines to identify environment-related problems and solutions, such as examining the chemical effects of toxic pollutants on the biota or the bioremediation methods employed to remediate oil spills [ 121 ]. The agricultural and biological sciences subject area consisted of articles that investigated the accumulation of pollutants (heavy metals, diesel and microplastics) in penguins that were detected in the body or soil through the food chain, with plants as the primary producers [ 122 ].…”