Improvement the Behaviors of a Clay Soil Contaminated with Phenanthrene by Using MgO

In this work, the effect of MgO on the treatment of a natural and contaminated clay soil with phenanthrene was studied through conducting various experimental tests including Atterberg limits, standard compaction, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), and SEM tests. The contaminated soil was prepared artificially in the lab. Natural and contaminated soil were mixed with 5, 10, 20, and 30% of MgO as an agent. The results showed that phenanthrene changes the structure of the soil and causes a reduction in Atterberg limits, wopt, UCS, and E50 of the soil. The results also indicated that the UCS and E50 of mixture natural and contaminated soil with different percentages of MgO are increased and the amount of increasing of them is dependent on the percentage of MgO and curing time. SEM results also showed that the formation of carbonation products due to hydration of MgO is effective in increasing the strength of treated soil samples.