Abstract

Oil and its derivatives leakage into the soil can alter the engineering behaviour of the soil and result in environmental catastrophes. Additionally, the use of remediation procedures is required to restore polluted sites to its original state and transform contaminated materials into ecologically and geotechnically sound building materials. For highly plastic clayey soils, bioremediation was adopted because it is effective, affordable, and environmentally beneficial. Atterberg limits, compaction, unconfined compression, direct shear, and consolidation tests were carried out on natural, contaminated, and bioremediated soil samples to examine the effects of contamination and remediation on fine-grained soil properties. This investigation was done in order to better understand the change in geotechnical properties of highly plastic, fine-grained soil caused by crude oil contamination and bioremediation.

Keywords: Oil Contamination; Bioremediation; Geotechnical properties; Clay mineralogy