+44 330 818 7254The contamination of surface and ground water through oil spillage resulting from the production and exploration of crude oil is a critical problem in the world today. This study was focused on constructing a simple and cheap technology using natural and readily available materials as filter beds for the remediation of water polluted by crude oil. Filter bed materials used were clay, corn cobs, activated carbon, fine sand, sand, egg shells, cotton wool and pebbles. Four glass filters were blown from glass columns of lengths 32cm and inner diameters of 3.3cm each. The filter performance was assessed by analysing the physical and chemical water quality determinants such as Turbidity level, pH TSS, Hardness, Nitrate, TDS COD,BOD,DO and ECW. The total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) level determined using a gas chromatography and electron capture (GC-ECD). The result showed that the total petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants in water at an initial concentration of 77.09mg/L were adjusted to 5.07mg/L in the treated sample after 20 days. The results in this study suggest that the filter made of locally sourced materials purified crude oil contaminated water and can be used as an efficient water remediation tool for areas faced with oil spillage issues.
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