Selected studies on interactions of chemical wastes with a clay soil

A study of physical and chemical effects of known concentrated commercial and industrial organic chemical liquid wastes on earthen lined evaporation/storage basins has been conducted. This study utilized known solutions of phenol, sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfate, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid in both simple and multi-component reaction systems with a Greens Bayou red clay soil. Basic soil mechanic measurements including the Atterberg Limit test, a permeability test, leachate formation and total exchangeable base tests were made on each reaction system. The concentration of the known solution (toxic solution) affected the soil characteristics: swelling, leaching, permeability and total exchangeable base increased and Atterberg Limits decreased as the concentration of the applied solution increased. Among the known toxic solutions, sulfuric acid strongly affected soil characteristics: swelling expansion was 90.9%; leaching passage reached 100%; permeability increased 98.5%; and total exchangeable base increased 39.8%, while the liquid limit and plastic index decreased 20.1% and 30.8% as compared with original fresh soil.