Contaminated soil and the oil it holds
Volume and mass of oil-contaminated soil and the mass and volume of oil in it, from the area and depth of contamination, the soil density and the oil content of the samples.
V = A · dm_s = V · ρ_sm_oil = m_s · C · 10⁻⁶V_oil = m_oil / ρ_oilThe oil content changes with depth: with samples by layer, calculate each layer separately and add them up. The analysis shows the extractable oil left in the soil; the part of the spill that evaporated or ran off is not included.
Source: Mass balance: soil mass × oil concentration
Inputs
You can change a field's unit: the value is converted to the formula's units automatically.
From test pits and boreholes; usually 0.1–0.5 m, deeper in sand.
In place, usually 1.5–1.9 t/m³.
Average over the layer, from laboratory analyses; 1 % = 10,000 mg/kg.
Unit converter for this formulaArea · Length · Density and °API · Mass · Liquid volume
- m²1
- km²1·10⁻⁶
- ha0.0001
- 10³ m²0.001
- mm²1,000,000
- cm²10,000
- in²1,550
- ft²10.7639
- acre0.000247105
- V — Volume of contaminated soil–
- m_s — Mass of contaminated soil–
- V_oil — Oil volume–
More in Spills and contamination
Results are engineering estimates from standard formulas; for design decisions check them against the codes, project documents and specialists' calculations. The formulas carried over from the original set are unchanged, and their errors are described in the notes.