Over 30% of domestic soil contamination has occurred via petroleum products and complex oil. Moreover, contamination by complex oil is more intense than it is by a single petroleum product species. In this study, we analyzed sectional TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbon) pattern and sectional ratio of current domestically distributed petroleum products, such as kerosene, diesel, bunker C, and lubricant and complex oils, to determine pollution characteristics of the soil. In the TPH pattern, kerosene, which is a light distillate, had an early retention time, and lubricant oil, which is a heavy distillate, had a late retention time in the gas chromatogram. In addition, we obtained a complexly contaminated soil via diesel and lubricant oil from the Navy and inspected it for its ratio of complex oil species. The inspection results showed that this soil was contaminated with 85% diesel and 15% lubricant oil. The method developed in this study could be used to determine complex petroleum sources and ratios at sites with accidentally contaminated soil.
Keywords: Soil contamination;Complex oil;TPH;Range analysis;Soil polluter;