Researcher explores landfarming to treat oil refinery sludge in Congo

Vitaline Vanessa Morabo Okoletimou, a doctoral student at Marien Ngouabi University in Brazzaville, has conducted research into treating soil contaminated by petroleum refining waste in Congo. Her study focuses on landfarming, a biological soil treatment method, to address pollution caused by refinery by-products, particularly those from activities in Pointe-Noire.

To optimize the degradation of hydrocarbons, the research investigated the incorporation of organic substrates, specifically compost and horse manure, into the contaminated soil. The study tested three different types of soil contaminated by various petroleum sub-products, yielding significantly different results. In one soil type, the hydrocarbon degradation rate reached 67.19%, while another reached 52.75%, and a third reached only 9.18%, indicating higher resistance to treatment in certain conditions.