A novel freezing point determination method for oil-contaminated soils based on electrical resistance measurement and its influencing factors

Guo-Yu Li; Jun Zhang; Zhi-Wei Zhou; Fei Wang; Dun Chen; Ya-Peng Cao; Gang Wu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137821

A novel freezing point determination method for oil-contaminated soils based on electrical resistance measurement and its influencing factors

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jun 15:721:137821. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137821. Epub 2020 Mar 9.

Authors

Guo-Yu Li¹, Jun Zhang², Zhi-Wei Zhou³, Fei Wang⁴, Dun Chen⁵, Ya-Peng Cao⁶, Gang Wu⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; Da Xing'anling Observation and Research Station of Frozen-Ground Engineering and Environment, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiagedaqi, Heilongjiang 165000, China; College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710054, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Da Xing'anling Observation and Research Station of Frozen-Ground Engineering and Environment, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiagedaqi, Heilongjiang 165000, China. Electronic address: junzhang2018@126.com.
³ State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; Da Xing'anling Observation and Research Station of Frozen-Ground Engineering and Environment, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiagedaqi, Heilongjiang 165000, China. Electronic address: zhouzhiwei@lzb.ac.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; Faculty of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; Da Xing'anling Observation and Research Station of Frozen-Ground Engineering and Environment, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiagedaqi, Heilongjiang 165000, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Da Xing'anling Observation and Research Station of Frozen-Ground Engineering and Environment, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiagedaqi, Heilongjiang 165000, China.

PMID: 32179359
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137821

Abstract

The traditional testing methods for freezing point measurement cannot accurately and quickly determine the freezing points of soils with a low water content and/or oil. Therefore, a new measurement method, which is more precise and has less error or deviation, was developed to determine the freezing point of soil and was verified by a series of laboratory tests. Additionally, the effects of oil content, water content, soil type, and dry density on freezing point were investigated. The results show that the water/oil mixing sequence remarkably affects the freezing point of sandy organic silt and lean clay; however, it does not affect the freezing point of poorly graded sand with silty clay. At water contents of <15%, the water content affects the freezing point more than the oil content does. At a water content of 5%, the freezing point decreases with increasing oil content. The effect of oil content on freezing point gradually decreases with increasing water content. At the same water and oil contents, the freezing point decreases with decreasing grain size. Moreover, the dry density has little effect on freezing point. The experimental results reveal the factors affecting the freezing point and their influencing mechanism, and provide important thermal parameters for thermal calculation for cold regions engineering.

Keywords: Cold regions; Electrical resistance measurement; Freezing point; Oil pipeline; Oil-contaminated soil; Permafrost.