Optimal Preservation of Oil-Containing Sands Using Zeolite: A Physical and Chemical Analysis
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 12
Abstract
Several approaches have been proposed to improve oil-contaminated soil remediation. However, the role of zeolite, a safe, clean, economical, and environmentally friendly material, in removing crude oil (CO) from contaminated soils remains unclear. This paper addresses this gap with respect to CO-contaminated sands (COCS) and aims to assess zeolite’s capability as a geo-environmentally adaptable material to mitigate the adverse impacts of oil pollution on sandy soils. The cyclic simple shear behavior and chemical analysis of coarse and fine-grain silicate sands are investigated and compared in response to CO contamination. Clean sand specimens were prepared with 60% relative density, whereas COCS specimens were prepared using a 6% crude oil contamination level. This study examines the impact of CO contamination and the use of an environmentally friendly stabilizer through simple shear tests (under static and cyclic conditions), consolidation experiments, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Optimal pollution adsorption was achieved by adding 6% zeolite to fine-grained sand, resulting in a 31.61% increase in the shear modulus index and an 18.70% increase in the friction angle index. Using 8% zeolite improved the shear modulus and friction angle indexes in coarse-grained sand by 21.69% and 11.83%, respectively. FTIR results showed a 45% and 59% enhancement in coarse and fine sands, respectively, indicating the positive role of zeolite in stabilizing COCS through pollutant adsorption. The superior performance of zeolite in fine-grained compared with coarse-grained sand is justified by its higher specific surface area and porous surface.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Abdelhalim, R. A., M. R. Selamat, and H. Ramli. 2022. “Evaluation of strength properties of oil-contaminated sands upon stabilisation with laterite soil.” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 23 (9): 2981–2997. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2021.1876875.
Abousnina, R., A. Manalo, W. Ferdous, W. Lokuge, B. Benabed, and K. S. Al-Jabri. 2020. “Characteristics, strength development and microstructure of cement mortar containing oil-contaminated sand.” Constr. Build. Mater. 252 (Aug): 119155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119155.
Abousnina, R. M., A. Manalo, J. Shiau, and W. Lokuge. 2016. “An overview on oil contaminated sand and its engineering applications.” GEOMATE J. 10 (19): 1615–1622.
Agarwal, A., Y. Zhou, and Y. Liu. 2016. “Remediation of oil-contaminated sand with self-collapsing air microbubbles.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 23 (23): 23876–23883. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7601-5.
Ahmad, S., S. B. Al-Amoudi Omar, M. H. Mustafa Yassir, M. Maslehuddin, and H. Al-Malack Muhammad. 2020. “Stabilization and solidification of oil-contaminated sandy soil using portland cement and supplementary cementitious materials.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 32 (8): 04020220. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0003169.
Al-Adly, A. I. F., A. I. Fadhil, and M. Y. Fattah. 2019. “Bearing capacity of isolated square footing resting on contaminated sandy soil with crude oil.” Egypt. J. Pet. 28 (3): 281–288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpe.2019.06.005.
Alotaibi, H. S., A. R. Usman, A. S. Abduljabbar, Y. S. Ok, A. I. Al-Faraj, A. S. Sallam, and M. I. Al-Wabel. 2018. “Carbon mineralization and biochemical effects of short-term wheat straw in crude oil contaminated sandy soil.” Appl. Geochem. 88 (Jan): 276–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2017.02.017.
Al-Sanad, H. A., W. K. Eid, and N. F. Ismael. 1995. “Geotechnical properties of oil-contaminated Kuwaiti sand.” J. Geotech. Eng. 121 (5): 407–412. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1995)121:5(407).
ASTM. 2024. Standard test method for consolidated undrained direct simple shear testing of fine grain soils. ASTM D6528-17. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Boruntea, C.-R. 2020. Design, synthesis and characterization of small-pore zeolites for industrial environmental applications. Valencia, Spain: Valencia Polytechnic Univ.
Christofi, N., I. Ivshina, M. Kuyukina, and J. Philp. 1998. “Biological treatment of crude oil contaminated soil in Russia.” Geol. Soc. London Eng. Geol. Special Publications 14 (1): 45–51. https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.ENG.1998.014.01.06.
Derbe, T., S. Temesgen, and M. Bitew. 2021. “A short review on synthesis, characterization, and applications of zeolites.” Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng. 2021 (1): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6637898.
Gu, Y., S. Chen, J. Li, Y. Liu, and L. Wang. 2020. “Remediation of diesel oil contaminated sand by micro-emulsion.” Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 28 (2): 526–531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjche.2019.07.004.
Hubler, J. F., A. Athanasopoulos-Zekkos, and D. Zekkos. 2018. “Monotonic and cyclic simple shear response of gravel-sand mixtures.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 115 (Dec): 291–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2018.07.016.
Jung, J., and J. W. Hu. 2017. “Characterization of polyethylene oxide and sodium alginate for oil contaminated-sand remediation.” Sustainability 9 (1): 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9010062.
Karimi, A. H., and A. Hamidi. 2021. “Effect of phytoremediation on geotechnical characteristics of oil contaminated sands.” Soil Sediment Contam. Int. J. 30 (8): 943–963. https://doi.org/10.1080/15320383.2021.1900065.
Keykha, H. A., H. M. Romiani, A. Zarei, and A. Asadi. 2022. “Stabilization of petroleum-contaminated sandy soil using CO2-induced magnesite precipitation.” Int. J. Environ. Res. 16 (6): 104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-022-00473-y.
Khosravi, E., H. Ghasemzadeh, M. R. Sabour, and H. Yazdani. 2013. “Geotechnical properties of gas oil-contaminated kaolinite.” Eng. Geol. 166 (Nov): 11–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2013.08.004.
Kim, S.-J., D. H. Choi, D. S. Sim, and Y.-S. Oh. 2005. “Evaluation of bioremediation effectiveness on crude oil-contaminated sand.” Chemosphere 59 (6): 845–852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.10.058.
Li, J., M. Li, Q. Song, S. Wang, X. Cui, F. Liu, and X. Liu. 2020. “Efficient recovery of Cu (II) by LTA-zeolites with hierarchical pores and their resource utilization in electrochemical denitrification: Environmentally friendly design and reutilization of waste in water.” J. Hazard. Mater. 394 (Jul): 122554. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122554.
Madhusudhan, B., A. Boominathan, and S. Banerjee. 2018. “Comparison of cyclic triaxial test results on sand-rubber tire shred mixtures with dynamic simple shear test results.” In Geotechnical earthquake engineering and soil dynamics V, 132–140. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Mat-Shayuti, M. S., T. M. Y. S. Tuan Ya, M. Z. Abdullah, P. N. F. Megat Khamaruddin, and N. H. Othman. 2019. “Progress in ultrasonic oil-contaminated sand cleaning: A fundamental review.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 26 (26): 26419–26438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05954-w.
Mekkiyah, H. M., Y. A. J. Al-Hamadani, A. A. Abdulhameed, A. S. Resheq, and Z. B. Mohammed. 2023. “Effect of crude oil on the geotechnical properties of various soils and the developed remediation methods.” Appl. Sci. 13 (19): 9103. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13169103.
Mohammadi, A., T. Ebadi, A. Eslami, and S. E. van der Zee. 2019. “Axial compressive bearing capacity of piles in oil-contaminated sandy soil using FCV.” Mar. Georesour. Geotechnol. 37 (2): 164–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2017.1414904.
Mola-Abasi, H., B. Kordtabar, and A. Kordnaeij. 2016. “Effect of natural zeolite and cement additive on the strength of sand.” Geotech. Geol. Eng. 34 (5): 1539–1551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-016-0060-4.
Nasiri, M., M. Hajiazizi, P. Jongpradist, and A. R. Mazaheri. 2022. “Impact of natural environment on sand aging under static and dynamic conditions.” Granular Matter 24 (2): 47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-022-01208-8.
Nasiri, M., M. Hajiazizi, P. Jongpradist, and A. R. Mazaheri. 2023. “Time-dependent behavior of crude oil-contaminated sands under static and dynamic states.” Soil Sediment Contam. Int. J. 33 (3): 353–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/15320383.2023.2204981.
Nasr, A., and S. Krishna Rao. 2016. “Behaviour of laterally loaded pile groups embedded in oil-contaminated sand.” Géotechnique 66 (1): 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.15.P.076.
Nasr, A. M. 2013. “Uplift behavior of vertical piles embedded in oil-contaminated sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 139 (1): 162–174. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000739.
Nasr, A. M. 2014. “Utilisation of oil-contaminated sand stabilised with cement kiln dust in the construction of rural roads.” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 15 (10): 889–905. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2014.893321.
Nokande, S., M. A. Khodabandeh, S. S. Hosseini, and S. M. Hosseini. 2020. “Collapse potential of oil-contaminated loessial soil (case study: Golestan, Iran).” Geotech. Geol. Eng. 38: 255–264. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-019-01014-9.
Nosrati, S. A., A. Negahdar, and H. Negahdar. 2021. “Stabilizing the clayey sand contaminated with heavy metals by zeolite and rice husk ash absorbents.” Arabian J. Geosci. 14 (Sep): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-08277-8.
Ojuri, O. O., and G. G. Epe. 2016. Strength and leaching characteristics of crude oil contaminated sandy soil stabilized with sawdust ash-cement.” In Proc., Geo-Chicago 2016, 582–590. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Ostovar, M., R. Ghiassi, M. J. Mehdizadeh, and N. Shariatmadari. 2021. “Effects of crude oil on geotechnical specification of sandy soils.” Soil Sediment Contam. Int. J. 30 (1): 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/15320383.2020.1792410.
Porcino, D., V. Marcianò, and R. Granata. 2015. “Cyclic liquefaction behaviour of a moderately cemented grouted sand under repeated loading.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng. 79 (Dec): 36–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2015.08.006.
Prasanna, G., and S. Manoharan. 2016. “A review on effect of crude oil on the geotechnical properties of soil.” Int. J. Res. Eng. Technol. 3: 1234–1236.
Rajabi, A. M., and S. B. Ardakani. 2020. “Effects of natural-zeolite additive on mechanical and physicochemical properties of clayey soils.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 32 (10): 04020306. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0003336.
Rajabi, H., and M. Sharifipour. 2019. “Effects of light crude oil contamination on small-strain shear modulus of Firoozkooh sand.” Eur. J. Environ. Civ. Eng. 23 (11): 1351–1367. https://doi.org/10.1080/19648189.2017.1347525.
Rathod, V. P., H. H. Parekh, P. D. Rajpura, M. V. Shah, S. R. Singh, R. R. Panchal, and V. J. Upadhye. 2022. “Effect of bioremediation technique on engineering properties of crude oil-contaminated soil.” Biocatal. Agric. Biotechnol. 43 (Aug): 102393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcab.2022.102393.
Rezaei, A., M. Rowshanzamir, S. M. Hejazi, and M. Banitalebi-Dehkordi. 2023. “Application of superabsorbent geotextiles to decontaminate and improve crude oil-contaminated soil.” Transp. Geotech. 38 (Jan): 100910. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2022.100910.
Roy, A., A. Sharma, S. Yadav, L. T. Jule, and R. Krishnaraj. 2021. “Nanomaterials for remediation of environmental pollutants.” Bioinorg. Chem. Appl. 2021 (1): 1764647. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/1764647.
Salamatpoor, S., Y. Jafarian, and A. Hajiannia. 2018. “Physical and mechanical properties of sand stabilized by cement and natural zeolite.” Eur. Phys. J. Plus 133 (5): 205. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2018-12016-0.
Shahidi, M., F. Farrokhi, and F. Asemi. 2019. “Changes in physical and mechanical properties of gas oil–contaminated clayey sand after addition of clay nanoparticles.” J. Environ. Eng. 145 (4): 04019004. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001508.
Shin, E., J. Lee, and B. Das. 1999. “Bearing capacity of a model scale footing on crude oil-contaminated sand.” Geotech. Geol. Eng. 17 (2): 123–132. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016078420298.
Silver, M. L., and H. B. Seed. 1971. “Volume changes in sands during cyclic loading.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 97 (9): 1171–1182. https://doi.org/10.1061/JSFEAQ.0001658.
Soltani-Jigheh, H., H. V. Molamahmood, T. Ebadi, and A. A. Soorki. 2018. “Effect of oil-degrading bacteria on geotechnical properties of crude oil–contaminated sand.” Environ. Eng. Geosci. 24 (3): 333–341.
Wang, F., J. Xu, Y. Zhang, Z. Shen, and A. Al-Tabbaa. 2021. “MgO-GGBS binder–stabilized/solidified PAE-contaminated soil: Strength and leachability in early stage.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 147 (8): 04021059. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002569.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 12 • December 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 14, 2023
Accepted: Jul 17, 2024
Published online: Sep 26, 2024
Published in print: Dec 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Feb 26, 2025
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.