Hydrocarbon and its derivatives pose serious environment problem globally, especially Sub-Sahara Africa. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the treatment of hydrocarbon rich waste water using algae. Microalgae was collected from pond water containing the microalgae and it was transported to thelaboratory for immediate analysis while the waste water was collected from an oil company in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Baseline parameter of the sample was determined. Microalgae was cultured using BG11 medium and was used for the treatment of the waste water and the rate of remediation was monitored by the change in total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration. The mean physicochemical composition of the sample is: conductivity (162.5 µs/cm), salinity (18.2ppt), TDS(242.4mg/kg), BOD (181.1mg/L), COD (121.8mg/L) and pH(7.8). A microalga (Chlorella sp.) was identified from the culture. Results revealed that treatment B had the highest mean remediation of hydrocarbon 74% (4494.2947mg/kg) followed by treatment Awith 55.5% (3367.8453mg/kg) and lastly2.3% remediation (138.76mg/kg) was observed in control sample.Also, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results revealed that total petroleum hydrocarbon(TPH) are significantly different (p<0.05) between treatments. Multiple comparison test using Fisher’s statistic buttressed the pair significances (p<0.05) between treatments. Apparently, this study showed the potential of microalgae, (Chlorella sp) in the treatment of waste contaminated by hydrocarbon and also, the growth of microalgae in remediation can be enhanced by organic nutrient.

Keywords : Hydrocarbon, Effluent, Microalgae, Remediation, Contaminate