THE EFFECT OF KEROSENE-CONTAMINATED WATER ON THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF CEMENT MORTAR

All over Nigeria as well as to the overseas the fuel oils as well as crude oils are transported through distribution pipes, tankers cargo ships. Although the processes are well laid out to avoid leakages of pipes, accidents of service tankers these events still happens on a regular bases especially in the niger delta region of the country where pipe vandalism due to oil bunkery is on the rise. All these processes leads to the leakages of fuel oils e.g kerosene which eventually settles on coastal waters. The leaked oil products would result in contaminating the water which are used in the concrete mortar and the sandcrete industry which are the cement dependent industry. In this study, the effect of water contaminated with kerosene on the compressive strength of conventional normal ordinary Portland cement has been evaluated in various exposure conditions. Kerosene (0, 2, 4 and 6%) by weight of water) was used to contaminate water to prepare cement mortar cubes specimens. A number of nine uncontaminated samples were prepared with fresh water. A number of nine samples each were prepared with contaminated water at 2%, 4%, 6% Kerosene replacement. Three samples each of percentage replacement and three uncontaminated samples were crushed at the age of three days, seven days and 28 days of curing. From the results gotten the maximum reduction in the compressive strength of 9.21% occurred at the six percentage contamination at the age of seven days. From results obtained it was seen that as the percentage of contamination increase the compressive strength decreased.