A study of the effects of waste lubricating oil on the physical/ chemical properties of soil and the possible remedies

Waste oil management in Nigeria is not well supervised, hence the indiscriminate disposition into the soil drains and sometimes open water. This has attendant implications on soil and water quality. Need has arisen to evaluate the consequence of such mismanagement on the environment. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of waste oil on the physical and chemical properties of soil in Lagos, and the possible remedies. The soil analysis showed that waste lubricating oil adversely altered the physical and chemical properties of the soil. It resulted in increase in bulk density from 1.10 to 1.15 g/cm3, organic carbon (2.15 to 3.05), moisture content and reduction in pH (6.5 to 6.0), porosity, capillarity (8.10 to 0.04 cm/h), water holding capacity, phosphorus and potassium contents. However, application of remediation agents such as water hyacinth, organic waste (ground corn cobs) and Polyurethane foam to the contaminated soil sample reduced the waste oil concentration and this resulted in improvements in the physical and chemical properties of the soil.   Key words: Waste oil, pollution, remediation, water hyacinth, reduce wear, environment.