Assessment of Contamination by Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Sediments along Discharge Basin of Suez Oil Refinery Company, Southwest of the Suez Gulf

اضغط هنا لتنزيل الملف

Assessment of Contamination by Petroleum
Hydrocarbons in Sediments along Discharge
Basin of Suez Oil Refinery  Company,Southwest of the Suez Gulf

THE PRESENT study was performed in discharge basin of Suez Oil ….Petroleum Company (SOPC), which is located southwest of the Suez Gulf. Sediment samples were collected from this area and investigated in 2012 - 2013 by Gas chromatography, Ultraviolet, and FT-IR spectroscopy. Gas chromatography analysis revealed petrogenic pollution and traces of biogenic hydrocarbons could also be detected. The concentration of total alkanes and unresolved complex mixture (UCM) in sediment samples ranged from 1116.3 up to 2137.4 μg/g with average1638.683μg/g. dry weights, the discharge of hazardous materials such as petroleum and chemical solvents to the aquatic environment has become the focus of increasing regulatory and public concern because of the adverse impacts of such materials on human health and the environment; Petroleum concentrations as low as 0.1 ppm have been shown to be acutely toxic. As the concentration was greater than the natural background concentration; therefore, the region can be considered (highly) polluted. Despite the high concentration of anthropogenic contaminates including industries, processing activities and other non-point source pollution. The unusual results may be related to wastes of conversion operations of crude oil to refined products. The present work demonstrates the complexity of hydrocarbon forensics when applied to chronically contaminated environments.