Effect of Crude Oil on the Geotechnical Properties of Various Soils and the Developed Remediation Methods

Abstract

Crude oil still affects many countries because it is one of the essential fuel sources. It makes life more manageable in modern communities and cannot be overstated because it is easy to use and find. However, the pollution caused by its use in industries such as mining, transportation, and the oil and gas business, especially soil pollution, cannot be ignored. Soil pollution is an issue in most communities because it influences people and ecology. Accidental infusions and spills of ore oils are prevalent occurrences leading to the entire or fractional exchange of the soil pore fluid by oil-contaminated soils that have affected the geotechnical engineering properties. The liquid limitations for polluted soil grades silty loam and sandy loam decreased by 38% and 16%. Oil contamination leads to decreased permeability; the permeability values for sandy loam soil decreased from (3.6 × 10−6 to 0.25 × 10−6 cm/s) when the oil content increased from 0 to 16%; however, the permeability values for silty loam decreased from (2.6 × 10−6 to 0.25 × 10−6) cm. The current study results exhibit that the geotechnical properties of contaminated soil with oil slag can be modified upon adding cement at different weight percentages (3, 5, and 7%) to the soil. The Atterberg limits and specific gravity of the soil were noticeably reduced when it was stabilised with cement, as well as because oil spills on soil significantly influence the environment. So, there is an immediate and critical need for efficiently removing petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants from contaminated soil. Bioremediation is a new technology gaining interest worldwide to clean up sites that have polluted petroleum hydrocarbons.