Remediation potential of native plant species in Iran to remove diesel from contaminated brownfields

Redevelopment of brownfields sites is a challenging issue throughout the world, which has gained increasing attention in recent years. Lands affected by oil wastes and products are among common types of brownfields sites in Iran. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) was employed to remediate diesel polluted soils in this study. The main aims of this study were to examine the phytoremediation potential of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) to remove hydrocarbons from spiked soils as well as the influence of diesel on growth characteristics of the sorghum. Soils were artificially contaminated with 100, 500, 1000, 3000 and 5000 mg/kg diesel. Residual hydrocarbons were measured at different intervals. Establishment of considerable biomass is one critical factor affects phytoremediation potential of plant species which has been addressed in this research. Sorghum demonstrated promising growth behaviour in contaminated soils; however, higher concentrations of hydrocarbons depressed growth parameters of sorghum to some extent. The highest hydrocarbon removal rate was obtained in presence of 100 mg/kg diesel, which was 93.54 % compared to the initial level. Results showed that sorghum is an effective plant that can be used in remediation of hydrocarbon contaminated sites.