ABSTRACT
The experiment was conducted at Faculty of Agriculture experimental farm, located at the back of the new faculty building of the University of Benin, Benin city, with the aim to determine the potentiality of elephant grass and poultry manure in the removal of heavy metals from spent engine oil polluted soils. The experiment was a 5m x 5m factorial, with 3 replications and in a Randomized complete Block Design (RCBD). The spent engine oil was applied and was left for 2 weeks before poultry manures were added to the soil. Soil samples were collected 2 weeks before the application of manures. The Soil samples were then analyzed using Standard laboratory analytical methods. Some of the physical and chemical parameters of the soil tested were pH, total nitrogen, total organic carbon, available phosphorus, total hydrocarbon content, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium.
The result showed that most of the parameters tested including pH, total nitrogen, total organic carbon, available phosphorus, total hydrocarbon content, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium increased at all levels of spent engine oil treatments, while the exchangeable acidity decreased at all levels of spent engine oil treatments when combined with poultry manure, thereby breaking down complex detrimental element from the SEO which is finally absorbed by the weed used. The study also showed the environmental safety of phytoremediation. The result obtained from the experiment was not significant due to the limited time used in carrying out the experiment.
