Fate of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Phytoremediation of Different Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils with Cotton, Ryegrass, Tall Fescue, and Wheat

Yunmin Zeng ¹ Shijie Wang ² Fan Huang ¹ Mohamed F. Abo El-Maati ³ Ahmed H. El-Sappah ^1,3*

• ¹ Yibin University, Yibin, Sichuan, China
• ² Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
• ³ Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Al Sharqia, Egypt

In this paper, aged oily sludge-contaminated soil was prepared by artificial method, and cotton, ryegrass, tall fescue, and wheat were applied for the removal of PAHs in different hydrocarbon-contaminated soils of diesel oil, PAHs, and oily sludge.The fate of PAHs was investigated through the analysis of PAHs distribution both in both rhizospheric soil and plant tissues. Moreover, root concentration factors (RCFs) and transpiration stream concentration factors (TSCFs) were defined to describe the PAHs transport in plant tissues and rhizosphere. These metrics provided valuable insights into the translocation and accumulation of PAHs in plant tissues and their interactions with the rhizosphere. The laboratory study proved the plants improved PAHs removal in the range of 20% -80%, the enhancement of planted wheat on PAHs removal was better than the other three plant species, and PAHs removal in oily sludge-contaminated soil was generally higher than that in the diesel oil or PAHs contaminated soil. The plant uptake of PAHs was 2% -10% and presented, presenting a highly linear correlation with root weight. The results proved that the plants above did well in phytoremediation of PAHs in different polluted soils. The RCFs were linearly correlated with LogKow between approximately 3 and 6. RCFs and TSCFs indicated that the four-plant species and their roots could not concentrate PAHs compounds. The findings of this study have significant implications for environmental management and remediation strategies. It verified the potential of phytoremediation as a viable strategy for managing petroleum hydrocarbon hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. By leveraging the natural capabilities of plants to uptake and degrade PAHs, this method, as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach, offers a sustainable alternative to traditional soil remediation techniques, which often involve high economic costs and significant environmental disruption.