Physicochemical Characterization of Selected Soil Types and Assessment of Moringa and Neem Root Extracts for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon Reduction in Crude Oil-Contaminated Soils

Soil physicochemical properties influence the fate, mobility, and biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in contaminated environments. This study characterized four soil types—loamy, silt, clay, and sandy soils—and assessed aqueous and alcoholic extracts prepared from Moringa oleifera and Azadirachta indica roots as treatment amendments for crude oil-contaminated soils. The soils were characterized before contamination, after contamination, and after treatment, using bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), moisture content (MC), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and phosphorus (P). The experimental design included an untreated contaminated-soil control, while the pre-contamination measurements provided baseline reference values. Each soil was contaminated with 50 mL of crude oil, allowed to stabilize for three days, and treated with 100 mL of the designated root extract for 84 days. Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) reduction and total bacterial count were monitored during the treatment period. Crude oil contamination increased the measured density, EC, MC, TOC, TN, and P values in the investigated soils, while pH generally decreased. After treatment, these properties generally moved toward the pre-treatment soil condition, while TPH reduction increased progressively with time. At day 84, TPH reduction among the reported treatments ranged from 69.03% to 96.14%. For the 600-g soil treatments, first-order kinetic fits gave R² values of 0.8671–0.9470, exceeding the corresponding second-order fits. The findings show that soil type, root-extract formulation, and extraction medium are associated with differences in TPH reduction and soil physicochemical response. The study supports further investigation of Moringa and Neem root extracts as locally available treatment amendments for petroleum-contaminated soils.

Bioremediation; Crude oil contamination; Moringa oleifera; Azadirachta indica; Root extracts

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