Case Study on Evaluated Soil Health Properties Before and After Land Farming and Thermal Desorption for TPH-contaminated Soil

Abstract

In this study, land farming and thermal desorption methods were applied for remediation experiments of contaminated soils with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) at gas stations and military facilities. Applying these methods can reduce the contamination concentration, but it can also affect soil health. Each method was divided into unit processes to compare the variation of soil health properties such as temperature, water content, and time applied. Physical property (bulk density) was almost unchanged, chemical properties (pH, EC, CEC, available P 2 O 5 and soil respiration) increased as compared to native soils, and biological properties (organic matter and β -glucosidase) have been reduced significantly. The results of this study can be used as primary data to recover deteriorated properties of remediated soils for the intended purpose of recycling.