Evaluation of geotechnical behavior of hydrocarbon-contaminated tropical soils

Abstract

Considering the increasing consumption of fuels and petroleum by the world population, the risk of oil-contamination by accidental spillage or leakage also increases, bringing heavy damage to the environment. The remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soil involves costly techniques and not only affects the quality of the soil but also alters its engineering properties. On the other hand, there is a potential to reuse these oil-contaminated soils, giving them a new economic value, such as waste disposal covering systems. In some cases such as leakage in the foundation soils for oil-storage tanks, the tank and the foundation soil removal becomes unviable. Thus, it is important to investigate geotechnical properties alterations of oil-contaminated soils, such as those that could promote additional foundation settlement. This study aims to evaluate changes in physical, mechanic and hydraulic properties of lateritic and non-lateritic hydrocarbon oil-contaminated soils through laboratory tests. The oils used for contamination, ethanol, gas and diesel, will be artificially added in different contamination percentages (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8%) of the dry weight of soil samples. Tests include analysis of grain particle size, Atterberg limits, soil compaction, unconfined compression strength, direct shear, pH, as well as soil microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscope. Results will compare the geotechnical behavior of tropical soils under different contamination types and levels. (AU)