Effects of Fuel Oil on the Geotechnical Properties of Clay Soil

Abstract

The present study highlights the effects of medium fuel oil (MFO) on the chemical, physical and mechanical properties of clay soil samples (disturbed and undisturbed) obtained from the site of the electrical power plant in the campus of the University of Baghdad at Al-Jadriah distract in Baghdad/Iraq. The soil sample has classified according to the unified soil classification system (USCS) as CL and described as lean clay of low plasticity. The medium fuel oil is an industrial wastewater disposed as a byproduct from the fuel used in the electricity power plant. The soil samples are artificially contaminated with two percentages of medium fuel oil, 10 and 20 % in related to the dry weight of soil. The soil samples had mixed with the contaminant (MFO) by the hands and then left for 4 days for homogeneity. A series of laboratory tests are conducted on both natural and artificially contaminated soil samples to measure the effects of medium fuel oil on the chemical, physical and mechanical properties of soil samples. The results of tests showed that the medium fuel oil has significant impacts on some properties of soil and slight effects on the others. Increasing the percentage of contaminant causes a slight decrease in the liquid limit and particle size distribution; on the other hand, it causes a considerable increase in the consolidation parameters and decrease in shear strength parameters. Also, there is a slight change in the chemical composition of soil samples.