Phytoremediation of petroleum-contaminated soil in association with soil bacteria

Abstract

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017. Unprecedented progress in industrial activities over the last century has directly contributed to the discharge of huge amounts of petroleum hydrocarbons into the environment. It has been estimated that about 1.7–8.8 million metric tons of oil is released into the environment every year. More than 90% of this oil pollution is caused by accidents due to human errors and also deliberate disposal of the waste containing hydrocarbons. Generally, petroleum and its products get into the environment through natural seepages, transportation, accidental spills, deliberate disposal, offshore production, and breakage of pipelines. Presence of petroleum hydrocarbon compounds in the environment can affect both on human health and the environment. Therefore, their presence in nature is of great concern today, and they need to be cleaned from the environment in the best possible way. Many research works have been carried out to determine the eco-toxicity of these pollutants but biological method has been reported to be more suitable to determine the possible hazards of pollutants in soil on the ecological and environmental bases.