Influence of Soil Degradation on Radiation-Chemical Transformations of Oil

Protecting soil from pollution by oil and petroleum products is an important environmental task. Sources of oil contamination of soil are not only oil fields, but also industrial facilities that directly or indirectly use petroleum products. Of interest are studies aimed at studying the processes of changes in oil during its degradation in the soil. When oil degrades, polycondensation processes occur on the soil surface, which leads to structural changes in the oil. We compared the composition and properties of oil after production and long-term presence on the soil surface. An analysis of oil-contaminated soils was carried out at a distance of 0–5 and 0–10 m from the source of pollution and from a depth of 0–15 cm. Oils degraded in the soil are also susceptible to the effects of natural radionuclide background. In this regard, the work investigated the impact of gamma radiation on oil degraded in the soil of the Surakhani oil field of Azerbaijan. Oil samples were taken from a well and from oil-contaminated soil and separated into three components: oils, resins, and asphaltenes. The results of mass spectrometric and IR spectrometric studies of the indicated fractions of crude and degraded oil samples are presented, and the patterns of formation of gaseous products during their radiolysis are established.