The Effects of Wastewater on The Chemical and Physical Properties of Fine-grained Soils

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different management and land use on soil chemical and physical properties as well as to validate the sensitivity of the soil to leachate. For this purpose, the effect of the wastewater discharged to the soil on the soil's properties taking advantage of the wastewater treatment capacity of the soil was investigated. In this study, different natural soils named SA, SG, SK, and SU were placed in plexiglass pipes with a length of 100 cm and a diameter of 20 cm and fed with wastewater for 21 days with an uninterrupted flow. Soil samples were collected from pipes after 21 days and some parameters were analyzed in order to evaluate the effect on soil structure. As a result, it was revealed that the existing chemical and physical properties of natural soils were affected by wastewater. The pH values of the soils showed a slight tendency to increase after wastewater leachate, except for the SG soil. The Na and K contents of soils increased up to approximately 283% and 390%, respectively. Additionally, it was calculated that the SAR of the soils increased by 118.18%-180.70%. The EC value decreased by 8.77% in SA soil after wastewater leakage, while it increased by 189% in SG soil. While the N and H contents of soils decreased after the wastewater leachate, the Mg, Ca, P, Al, Pb, Zn, and C contents varied according to the soil type. As the fine-grain percentage of the soils increased, their Na adsorption capacity increased (r2=0.96).