Stabilization of Black Cotton Soil using Medical Waste

Stabilization of Black Cotton Soil using Medical Waste

Kishore K1

1Final year Student M.E, Dept. Of Civil Engineering,

Solamalai College of Engineering, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Manickavasagam R2

2Assistant Professor, Dept. Of Civil Engineering,

Solamalai College of Engineering, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract:- Black cotton soil is not well suitable for construction because of its high shrinkage and swelling properties, so it becomes challenge to the civil engineers. By using economical stabilizing materials we can improve this soil strength. Medical waste such as syringes, medicine scrappers are first sterilized and powdered then mixed with soil at certain proportion. In this project medical wastes are mixed with black cotton soil at proportion of 3%, 5%, 7% and 9%. Basic soil sample tests and strength determining test like standard proctor test, CBR test, unconfined compression test are conducted. It was found that engineering properties of black cotton soil improved by addition of medical waste powder, but at certain point the strength attains maximum peak value. After that addition of medical waste does not impact any change in the strength.

Keywords:- Black cotton soil, sterilize, CBR test, unconfined compression test, standard proctor test, medical waste

1. INTRODUCTION

   This project is about stabilization of black cotton soil using harmless medical waste like syringes without needles, medicine scrappers. Medical waste are difficult to dispose and it requires certain methodology which is cost high. Therefore i decided to use this medical waste as stabilizing material , with proper sterilizing methods this medical waste becomes safer to use in construction. We can also obtain sterilized medical wastes from bio medical waste plant. To ensure safety about human beings and environment this project is specifically conducted for highway projects on black cotton soil region only. The total quantity of medical waste generated in India per day is 550 tonnes per day, so there is a need to reuse this waste. In this project the strength parameters of the black cotton soil is examined when it mixed with medical waste powder at different proportion of mixing. Basic soil sample test are conducted to find the engineering properties of the soil, CBR test, SPT and UCC test are conducted for the soil sample first and then conducted for the soil mixed with medical waste powder at different proportion. The most important of this tests are to determine the correct proportion of mixing which gives optimum strength to the soil and it will be takes as standard mix and can be used for highway project.

2. MATERIALS USED

   Black cotton soil is taken as the basic soil sample because stabilization on this type of soil shows strength variation which is easy for to analyse and examine. Medical waste like syringes without needles and medicine drops scrappers are

   taken as stabilizing materials, which is further sterilized and powdered.

   1. Black cotton soil

      Black cotton soil contains high amount of montmorillonite clay mineral, which is responsible for its high shrinkage and swelling properties. Around 22% of total area of India contains black cotton soil. States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Tamilnadu. Mostly it occurs on the deccan plateau. Due to covid pandemic I could not collect the soil sample, so I purchased black cotton soil (Fig. 1) from Maharashtra by courier service. I have ordered around 8kg of soil.

      Fig. 1 black cotton soil sample

   2. Medical wastes

   Medical wastes are classified into liquid wastes, solid waste, radio active waste and further classified into hazardous and non hazardous. From this I have taken only the non hazardous solid waste like syringes without needles because needles contains blood tissues which tends to risk life, therefore blood tissues contented waste should not be used. Other waste like IV tubes, glucose bag, medicine wrappers and tonic bottles can also be used. But whatever the medical waste we have taken it should be treated/sterilized first in order to remove the bacteria and medical chemical composition matters from the waste. Due to the pandemic time I could not get the medical waste from the bio medical waste plant, so I have advised to use the newly brought syringes. I have ordered 200- 5mm syringes,100 3mm syringes in local medical shop, I collected various medical waste in my own house like eye drops bottles, sanitizers bottles which is exhausted (Fig. 2).

   Mix designation	Mix
   03:97	3% of medical waste powder + 97% of black cotton soil
   05:95	5% of medical waste powder + 95% of black cotton soil
   07:93	7% of medical waste powder + 93% of black cotton soil
   09:91	9% of medical waste powder + 91% of black cotton soil

   Mix designation	Mix
   03:97	3% of medical waste powder + 97% of black cotton soil
   05:95	5% of medical waste powder + 95% of black cotton soil
   07:93	7% of medical waste powder + 93% of black cotton soil
   09:91	9% of medical waste powder + 91% of black cotton soil

   TABLE 1 MIXING PROPORTION

   1. Sterilize

      Fig. 2 Medical wastes

      The term sterilize means treating the waste to remove or destroying the pathogenic bacteria. Some of the sterilizing methods are chemical disinfection, microwave method, UV rays method and steam boiling method. I have sterilized the medical waste by boiling at 93.3 degree Celsius.

   2. Grinding

      Grinding is known as conversion of materials into finer particles. The medical wastes after sterilized it will be grinded to make it into powder form, then only the mixing will be gentle. Grinding process is achieved by company called Kandan grinding company shown in Fig. 3, they cost for the process based on weight of the waste like 50 rupees per kilogram. The medical waste after grinding, as show in Fig. 4.

3. TEST AND RESULTS

   1. Geotechnical properties

      TABLE 2

      PROPERTIES OF BLACK COTTON SOIL

      Properties	values
      Dry density	1300 to 1800 kg/m3
      Liquid limit %	40 to 60 %
      Plastic limit %	20 to 60 %
      Soil classification	CH or MH
      Free swell index	40 to 180 %

   2. Water content

      TABLE 3

      WATER CONTENT TABLULATION

      Samples	w1	w2	w3	w
      1	20.8	39.5	35.6	26.35
      2	18.9	37.6	34.2	22.22
      3	20.8	38.7	34.9	27

      The average Water content of black cotton soil is found ut to be 25.19 %.

   3. Particle size distribution

      Fig. 3 Kandan grinding

      This classification test determines the range of sizes of particles in the soil and the percentage of particles in each of these size ranges.

      1) Sieve analysis

      TABLE 4

      Sieve (mm)	Retained wt(g)	Cumulative Retained (g)	Cumulative retained%	%Finer
      4.75	0	0	0	0
      2.36	34.32	34.72	5.72	94.28
      1.18	10.32	44.64	7.44	92.56
      0.6	83.76	128.4	21.4	78.6
      0.425	25.68	154.08	25.68	74.32
      0.3	24.08	178.56	29.76	70.24
      0.15	22.08	200.64	33.44	66.56
      0.075	21.06	222	37	63

      Sieve (mm)	Retained wt(g)	Cumulative Retained (g)	Cumulative retained%	%Finer
      4.75	0	0	0	0
      2.36	34.32	34.72	5.72	94.28
      1.18	10.32	44.64	7.44	92.56
      0.6	83.76	128.4	21.4	78.6
      0.425	25.68	154.08	25.68	74.32
      0.3	24.08	178.56	29.76	70.24
      0.15	22.08	200.64	33.44	66.56
      0.075	21.06	222	37	63

      SIEVE ANALYSIS TEST

      1. Mixing

      Fig. 4 Medical waste powder

      Mixing with soil is done by manually and mixing will be four different proportion 3%, 5%, 7% and 9%. CBR test, unconfined compression test and standard proctor test is conducted for each proportion and the overall results will be discussed.

      2) Hydrometer analysis

      Hydrometer analysis is done on the percentage of soil passing through 75 micron sieve and the particle size distribution curve as show in Fig. 5.

      TABLE 5 HYDROMETER TEST

      Sieve size (mm)	%Finer
      0.065	60.8
      0.0574	54.67
      0.0423	44.26
      0.0313	31.69
      0.0118	24.97
      0.0089	22.64
      0.0063	18.61
      0.0053	15.28
      0.00221	8.69

      Fig. 5 Particle size distribution curve

      D60 = 0.064 CU = 0.064 / 0.0027 = 23.704

      D30 = 0.026

      D10 = 0.0027 CC = ( 0.026)2 / (0.064*0.0027) = 3.912

   4. Atterberg Limits

      1. Liquid limit

         The liquid limit of black soil is found to be 47.6 % Inference Since the liquid limit comes out to be < 50%, therefore the soil is medium to high plastic.

      2. Plastic Limit

         The average plastic limit of black soil was found to be 24.68%.

      3. Plastic Index

      Plastic Index (PI) = Liquid Limit(WLL) Plastic Limit (WPL) = 48-25=23% and the nature of the soil is determined from the Fig. 6.

      Fig. 6 plastic index VS Liquid limit

      Since plasticity index of black cotton soil is 23%, therefore the soil is medium to high plastic.

   5. Shrinkage Limit

      TABLE 6 SHRINKAGE LIMIT

      Shrinkage dish	1	2	3
      Initial water content of wet soil pat W1(g)	47.10	47.69	46.80
      Mass of oven dry soil pat in gm Ws (g)	27.36	25.50	26.90
      Volume of wet soil pat in cc (V1)	23.24	23.40	22.85
      Volume of dry soil in cc (V2)	12.78	13.61	12.30
      Shrinkage limit WSL (%)	8.87	9.30	7.88

      The average shrinkage limit of black cotton soil was found to be 8.68%.

   6. Specific gravity test

      TABLE 7 SPECIFIC GRAVITY TEST

      Sample	1	2
      W1 = Weight of Empty Density bottle	30	28.6
      W2 = Weight of Density bottle + oven dry soil	38	36.5
      W3 = Weight of Density bottle + oven dry soil + water	84.2	84.5
      W4 = Weight of Density bottle + water full	79.4	79.7
      Specific gravity	2.64	2.75

      Specific gravity of soil sample was found to be 2.69 and hence the soil is clayey as per IS : 2720(Part 4)-1985.

   7. Standard proctor compaction test

      The standard proctor test is conducted for basic soil sample first and then conducted for each proportional mix. Dia of mould 10cm, height of mould – 12.6 cm, Volume =989.6 cm3.

      The optimum moisture content and maximum dry density with respect to Biomedical waste powder mix are given in the table above. The optimum moisture content with respect to biomedical waste mix are plotted in (Fig. 7) and maximum dry density with respect to Biomedical mix are plotted in (Fig. 8).

      TABLE 8 COMPARISON OF SPT RESULTS

      Bmw mix %	Optimum moisture content	maximim dry density g/cc
      0	17.8	2.03
      5	16.8	2.04
      7	15.8	2.05
      9	15.05	2.05

      Fig. 7 Optimum moisture content VS BMW mix %

      Fig. 9 UCC comparison graph

      1. CBR Test

         Fig. 10 Unconfined compressive strength

         CBR test are conducted for each sample as like ucc test, as shown Fig. 11. The California bearing ratio test for each samples are listed below. The comparison graph for

         2.5 mm and 5mm penetration also plotted, as shown in Fig. 12.

         Fig. 8 Maximum dry density VS BMW mix %

         The Maximum dry density increases with increase in BMW mix. But at 9% mix there is no increase in max dry density.

   8. Unconfined compression test

   The unconfined compression test conducted for soil sample and for different mix proportions. Each test values are determined and plotted in (Fig. 9) for comparative purpose. The maximum unconfined compressive strength of each test helps to identify the strength variation, as shown in Fig. 10

   TABLE 9

   BMW mix percentage %	CBR value %
   	2.5 mm	5 mm
   0	2.1	1.95
   3	2.01	1.84
   5	3.54	2.8
   7	3.85	3.03
   9	1.75	1.5

   BMW mix percentage %	CBR value %
   	2.5 mm	5 mm
   0	2.1	1.95
   3	2.01	1.84
   5	3.54	2.8
   7	3.85	3.03
   9	1.75	1.5

   CBR TEST RESULTS

   Fig. 11 CBR Tests results

   Fig 12 CBR comparison chart (2.5mm)

   Fig. 13 CBR Comparison chart (5mm)

   The CBR value start decreasing after 7% Bio medical waste mix.

4. CONCLUSION

The Maximum dry density increases with increase in BMW mix. But at 9% mix there is no increase in max dry density. The Ucc strength maximum at 5% BMW mix, after 5% it starts to decrease, the CBR value start decreasing after 7% BMW mix. As the result obtained from different soil test I have concluded that the medical waste powder increasing the properties of black cotton soil. The maximum strength in properties obtained when the mix proportion is between 5% to 7%. The peak strength achieved in between this proportion. I will do further research on this project in future by implementing geo synthetic materials as soil cover in order to provide extra safety to the ground water from effect of BMW mixed within the soil. This project is suitable for highway projects. Using Non-hazardous Medical waste as filling and stabilizing material in safety methods helps to discompose the medical waste and also economic. Medical waste in mixed condition and used under the ground surface to certain depth as like Bio medical waste plant landfill so there is no threats for human.

REFERENCES

1. A. Ali Aliabdo, M. Abd-Elmoaty, and H. Hani Hassan, Utilization of crushed clay brick in cellular concrete production, Alexandria Engineering Journal, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 119130, 2014.

2. B. Mishra, A study on engineering behavior of black cotton soil and its stabilization by use of lime, International Journal of Science and Research, vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 290294, 2015.

3. B. R. Malhotra and K. A. John, Use of limefly ash-soil aggregate mix as a base course, Indian Highways, vol. 14, no.

4. D. Tavakoli, A. Heidari, and S. H. Pilehrood, Properties of concrete made with waste clay brick as sand incorporating SiO2, Indian Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 18991905, 2014.

5. G. Moriconi, V. Corinaldesi, and R. Antonucci, Environmentally friendly mortars: a way to improve bond between mortar and brick, Materials and Structures, vol. 36, no. 10, pp. 702708, 2003.

6. J. Oja and P. Gundaliya, Study of black cotton soil characteristics with cement waste dust and lime, in Proceedings of the Nirma University International Conference on Engineering (NUiCONE 2012), pp. 110118, Gujarat, India, December 2013.

7. M. K. Mohanty, Stabilization of Expansive Soil Using Fly Ash, Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology,

   Rourkela, Odisha, India, 2015

8. R. Rathan Raj, S. Banupriya, and R. Dharani, Stabilization of soil using rice husk ash, International Journal of Computational Engineering Research, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 4350, 2016.

9. K. Sudharani, S. K. Abhishek, N. Adarsh, and Manjunath, Stabilization of black cotton soil using brick dust and bagasse ash, International Journal for Scientific Research and Development, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 140144, 2017.

10. IS:2720 (Part 4)-1985 Code of practice for Grain Size Analysis.