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Prospects of emerging PAH sources and remediation technologies: insights from Africa

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Abstract

Remediation of polluted environmental media is critical to realization of the goals of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UNDER) project. Many natural-resource dependent economies in Africa are characterized by numerous contaminated sites resulting from conventional and artisanal natural-resource mining. Alongside these extractive activities, there are refining, processing, and power plant operations, agriculture, urban, and infrastructure developments that contribute to increased discharges of toxins into the environment, particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are carcinogenic in nature. As a result, human and environmental receptors (i.e., air, water, soil, and biota) face increasing risk of exposure to higher concentrations of PAH. Evidence exists of widespread PAH contamination and in some instances where corrective action has been taken, residual contaminant levels exceeding regulatory thresholds remain in the environment due to the use of inappropriate and unsustainable remedial methods. Considering the long-term harmful effects of PAH on human and ecosystem health, land use, and the complexity of Africa’s environmental deterioration, it is essential to explore remediation strategies that benefit both the environment and the economy. This review examined the status, opportunities, and challenges related to the application of emerging green technologies to remediate PAH-contaminated sites in five African countries (South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Egypt, and Kenya). This paper concludes that bioremediation presents a sustainable option, considering its low net emissions and environmental footprints, and its low economic cost to Africa’s poor communities and overburdened economy. However, an integration of biological and physico-chemical approaches could address various compounds and concentrations of PAH contamination.

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Acknowledgements

All authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers who helped to improve the quality of our work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Geography and Geoscience, University of Portsmouth, University House, Winston Churchill Ave, Portsmouth, PO1 2UP, UK

    Kabari Sam

  2. Department of Marine Environment and Pollution Control, Faculty of Marine Environmental Management, Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, Nigeria

    Kabari Sam & Amarachi P. Onyena

  3. Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, East-West Road, PMB 5323, Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

    Nenibarini Zabbey & Goodluck N. Nwipie

  4. Environment and Conservation Unit, Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), D-Line, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

    Nenibarini Zabbey

  5. Division of Biotechnology, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS, Dalian, 116023, China

    Chuks K. Odoh

  6. Department of Environmental Technology and Management, World Bank Africa Centre of Excellence, Centre for Oilfield Chemicals Research, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, P.M.B.5323, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

    Dumbari K. Nkeeh

  7. Petroleum Chemistry Research Group, Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, P.M.B 5323, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

    Leo C. Osuji

  8. Environmental Consultancy, Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, Cambridge, CB24 4RL, UK

    David I. Little

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Contributions

K.S., A.P.O: conceptualization, methodology, visualization, investigation, supervision, writing original draft preparation, review, and editing. Writing—review and editing N.Z., C.K.O., G.N.N., D.K.N., L.C.O., and D.I.L.

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Highlights

Continuous PAH contamination threatens the vision of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Adopting emerging green technology for PAH remediation in Africa is crucial.

Remediation should aim to achieve low greenhouse gas emissions and net environmental benefits.

Lack of best applicable technology and limited expertise are the key challenges.

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Sam, K., Onyena, A.P., Zabbey, N. et al. Prospects of emerging PAH sources and remediation technologies: insights from Africa. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 39451–39473 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25833-9

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