Utilization of Oil-Contaminated Soils as Construction Materials

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The oil well sabotage during the Iraqi occupation, and following their withdrawal, had contaminated the Kuwaiti desert with crude oil, spanning millions of square meters. Thus, the desert had a huge amount of oil-contaminated soil that had to be cleaned or treated to restore the desert to its natural beauty. The environmental disaster prompted many researchers to investigate possible solutions. This study dealt with a practical and economical solution resulting in a marketable product that offset the cost of remediation. The oil-contaminated sand (OCS) was used as part of an asphalt concrete mix designed for road construction. An extensive laboratory testing program was carried out to ensure that the proposed mix design met internationally accepted standards. The result indicated that the quality of the asphalt concrete mix produced by utilizing the OCS, instead of clean stand, was acceptable according to American Association of the State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and Ministry of Public Works (MPW) specifications. Accordingly, a 500-meter long road, seven meters wide, was designed and constructed for heavy traffic. Another 500 m long road of the same width was constructed with clean aggregates for comparison. Both road segments were subjected to quality tests and found to be within acceptable limits of international standards similar to the laboratory results. The gas emitted during production of the asphalt concrete in the laboratory and pilot plant were considered environmentally acceptable.