Oil Contaminated Soil as Potential Applicable Material in Civil Engineering Construction

Abstract

Subsurface and ground water contamination with chemicals from industrial and agricultural sources poses environmental problems. Apart from constituting health risk to both human and animals (terrestrial and aquatic), it is a source of deterioration to physical, chemical and geotechnical properties of the soil.

The reuse of contaminated soil as civil engineering materials is seeing as one of the effective alternative methods of disposing contaminated soil. However, this is subject to either the containment of the agent of contamination in soil or effective remediation of the contaminated soil. The geomechanic and geotechnical behaviour of oil contaminated soil is therefore reviewed to ascertain their potential reuse as engineering material. This is explored in relation to the current state of oil contamination in Nigeria.

It is was reported that there was reduction in shear strength and stress-strain behaviour of low plastic and high plastic clays, significant reduction in permeability, strength and compressibility of the contaminated soil, reduction in maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) and increase in liquid and plastic limits of the soil. It is also revealed that the maximum dry density and thus the compaction characteristics of the oil contaminated soil structure depend on the type and viscosity of the pore fluid. Other factors include the nature of the soil particles in relation to its mechanical and physicochemical properties and the presence of any organic or inorganic materials.

However, irrespective of these constraints, contaminated soil can still be applied as reused materials as discussed especially in hot-mix asphalt production, concrete production and sandcrete block production.

Keywords: Soil, Oil, Contamination, Reuse, Geotechnical properties.