Assessment of thermal and physicochemical properties of mechanic village soils derived from two different geological formations in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed and compared selected soil properties, oil and grease content, and thermophysical parameters of sandy loam soils from two representative automobile mechanic village (MV) on two different geological formations in Ogun State, Nigeria. The two locations: Abeokuta and Sagamu are situated on a basement complex and Cretaceous-sedimentary formations, respectively. Ten sample points were established on each MV. Physico-chemical and in-situ thermal properties were measured using standard methods and KD2 Pro thermal analyzer, respectively. Three different regression models (linear, semi-log and double-log) were generated for the prediction of thermal conductivity ( λ s ) and specific heat capacity ( C s ). Topsoils in both MVs are slightly acidic to neutral, with an average oil and grease content > 100 mg/kg. Results of thermophysical parameters revealed that the average λ s values in MV soils of basement complex and sedimentary backgrounds were 1.656 and 1.988 W/mK, respectively. The average C s values in Abeokuta and Sagamu MV soils are 2.295 and 3.043 MJ/m3K, respectively. The regression analysis showed that the double log model performed better than both linear and semi log models for predicting λ s at both locations. All the tested regression models have good prediction effects on C s at location within cretaceous sedimentary, whereas linear and double-log models proved feasible for predicting C s at location underlain by basement complex.