Strength Characteristics of Cement-Stabilized Vermi-Improved Crude Oil Contaminated Lateritic Soil under British Standard Light Compactive Effort for Highway Application

John E. Sani, Atonu Y. Arome, Nasiru Musa, George Moses, Barakat O. Ochu

Abstract


This study investigates the strength characteristics of cement-stabilized vermi-remediated crude oil contaminated lateritic soil under British Standard Light (BSL) compactive effort for potential application as highway base material. About 250 kg of lateritic soil obtained from Shika, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria (Latitude 11°15′ N, Longitude 7°45′ E) was contaminated with crude oil at a rate of 75 cl per 10 kg of soil and mixed with 1000 ml of water. The total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content was measured at 4500 mg/kg before vermiremediation using the earthworm species Eudrilus eugeniae at a density of 300 worms per 200 kg of contaminated soil for one month. Post-remediation TPH was reduced to 3300 mg/kg, reflecting a remediation efficiency of 27%. Cement stabilization was applied at 0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% admixture levels. Under BSL compactive effort, the optimum moisture content (OMC) decreased progressively from 16.25% (0% cement) to 13.01% (8% cement) while maximum dry density (MDD) increased from 1.62 g/cm³ to 1.66 g/cm³. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days curing peaked at 6% cement with values of 407.37, 434.35, 503.55 and 534.03 kN/m² respectively. The unsoaked California Bearing Ratio (CBR) was highest at 6% cement (95.06%), while soaked CBR peaked at 8% (77.55%). Durability assessment showed resistance to loss in strength of 122.06% at 8% cement under BSL. All optimum strength values at 6% cement for BSL satisfied Nigerian General Specification requirements for highway sub-base material. The findings are consistent with prior studies on cement stabilization of geotechnically challenged lateritic soils (Sani et al., 2024), confirming cement as an effective binder for improving contaminated lateritic soils in tropical environments. 


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