Volume 2, Issue 4, July - December, 2025

Geochemical Assessment of Bottom Sediments of Water Bodies at Crude Oil Exploration Station in Delta State, Nigeria

Abolodje Onoriode Darlington¹, Ibe KA¹, Osisanya Olajuwon Wasiu^2♦, Ibitoye Taiwo Abel³, Saleh A Saleh³

¹Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria.
²Department of Physics, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria.
³Department of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria.

^♦Corresponding Author
Osisanya Olajuwon Wasiu, Department of Physics, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Understanding the occurrence, composition, and distribution patterns of aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHCs) are crucial signals for identifying the anthropogenic contributions and sources of AHCs present in the environment. Therefore, this study focused on analyzing the concentrations, distribution pattern, compositional patterns, and sources of AHCs found in crude oil and sediments collected from the Udu, Ethiope East, and Ughelli North Local Government Areas. A total of nine (09) crude oil samples and ten (10) sediment samples were obtained from the designated study area. The analysis of AHC concentrations in these identification was performed by gas chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) using hexane/dichloromethane mixture and further purification in a column filled with silica gel and alumina. The AHC in the crude oil samples were observed to be between 450 and 43657 mg/kg, with an average of 12859.11+7884.68mg/kg. The sediment samples on the other hand contained concentrations of AHC that varied between 10.8 and 470mg/kg with a mean concentration of 102.74 +2.85 mg/kg. The UNEP guideline limit of AHCs in sediments is 10 mg/kg, yet they were greater than those. The AHCs of the crude in the Ethiope East Local Government Area were detected to be 3071 +53.3mg/kg. Udu Local Government Area on the other hand reported concentrations of 14999 +/-314.3 and 155027 +/-291.7mg/kg. AHCs of the Ughelli North Local Government Area were 1149±69.7, 21686±3352.8, 14099±147.7, 450±17.3, 1114±19.6, and 43657±2185.3 mg/kg. Regarding sediment, the AHCs recorded were 12.7±0.3 and 18.8±0.6 mg/kg for Ethiope East Local Government Area, while Udu Local Government Area presents recorded values of 17. The results of the ANOVA reveal a significant difference (p<0.05) in the levels of AHCs found in both crude oil and sediment samples. Furthermore, the regression analysis indicates a minimal or nonexistent correlation between AHC concentrations in crude oil and those in sediment. Notably, the predominant hydrocarbons (MH) identified in the samples of crude oil and sediment were characterized by even carbon numbers, including C8, C16, C18, C32, C34, C36, and C38.

Keywords: Aliphatic Hydrocarbons, Sediment, Crude, Oil, Nigeria

Discovery Nature, 2025, 2(4), e11dn3129

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v2i4.e11dn3129

Published: 23 October 2025