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Organic and Peat Engineering Properties, and their Suitability for Construction
Projects

Article · April 2019

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Safw Kawa Abdulkareem Sozi Hassan

The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani
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Organic and Peat Engineering Properties,
and their Suitability for Construction
Projects

Project Done by:

Savo Kawa
Sozi Hassan

​Project​ was Supervised by:

Dr. Nihad Baban

Engineering Department
The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani
April 1, 2019
 Table of Content

Keywords​ .........................................................................................................................................…. ​2

Abstract and Objective ​........................................................................................................................ ​3

Introduction ​.......................................................................................................................................... ​4-8

Properties​ ..............................................................................................................................................​ 9-10

Tests and Investigation​......................................................................................................................... ​10-12

Role of Peat and Organic Soils in Engineering Geology ​................................................................... ​13

Importance of peat Soil and Organic Soil for Construction Projects ​............................................. ​14-15

Engineering Problems Related to Organic and Peat Soils ​.............................................................. ​16-18

Previous Studies Related to Solutions of Construction on Peat soil ​............................................... ​19-23

Conclusions ​..........................................................................................................................................​ 24

References ​.............................................................................................................................................​ 25-26

1
Keywords

Consolidation:​ is a method, in which the volume of a soil sample changes due to applied load or stress.

Fossilization: ​is the process in which living organisms, like plants or animals, change into a fossil (​Dead

and Then Fossilized)​.

Organic soil:​ is a type of soil, which consists of organic matters and minerals.

Liquid limit:​ is the amount of water content in the soil, which acts as a liquid.

Organic Matters: refers to the living organisms in the soil, Organic matters in the soil could be plants

and animals.

Peat Soil: is a type of soil, which is produced from the decomposition of plants, animals, and organic

matters (Hua, 2016).

Carbon emission:​ refers to the method of releasing CO2, Carbon dioxide from soil into the atmosphere.

Columnar Technique​: is a process in which soil-cement columns are made by using mixing auger and

using some admixture (​Hashim​, 2008​)​.

Soil stabilization: ​it is a method uses for improving soil physical properties.

Specific Gravity:​ is mass of soil per volume of soil.

2
Abstract

Peat and organic soils are the two types of soils which consist of organic matters, so they are not suitable

for engineering construction projects. The sources of problems are due to low strength, and high water

content mostly, and also there are other problems that will be mentioned in the other sections. The aims of

this project are highlighting the problems and pursuing solutions. Also, explaining the properties and

characteristics of organic and peat soils and improving its properties so as to be used for construction

work, such as multi-story buildings, houses, roads, highways, airport, and so on.

Figure 1​: A sample of organic soil [5].

3
Introduction

Organic soil is the kind of soil that consist of plants and animals’ residue decomposition, and it uses as

material for feeding and breathing for soil. Peat forms when partially decomposed plant materials

accumulate; this is illustrated in Figure 2 (Hua, 2016). Because of shortages in oxygen, decomposition of

dead plants will take a long time, and peatland is a saturated soil (Hua, 2016). They will be formed in the

wetlands by the cause of chemical reactions, vegetation, and fossilization(Hashim​, 2008​). Fossilization is

the process in which living organisms, like plants or animals, change into a fossil (Dead and; then

Fossilized). Because of the high moisture content, it is soft. Peat soil is produced during low oxygen

condition (Stanley, 2012).

Figure 2:​ The formation of peat soil from plants and animals over a long period [5].

5% of organic soil contains organic matters. Organic soil is essential for plants, shown in figure 3 because

it is the source of growth. This soil provides nutrients, vitamins, hormones, and anti-disease. Also, peat is

4
decomposed of vegetation and other organic elements. In some places' peat account as a source of fuel, but

it does not consider as renewable resources. Plus, around 2% of the world's land areas is peat soil.

Figure 3:​ Organic soil, which is ​so desirable and good for growing plants [​ ​5​].

The soil is considered to be peat soil when it consists of a high percentage of organic materials which are

the source of the problem because it has bad consolidation properties and it is not easy to compact.

Therefore, it is unsuitable for doing any projects. Another term worth mentioning is peatland which

established from peat. Peatland has some properties which are low oxygen, low plant nutrients, and high

water. Going back to peat soil, in some places it is used as a material for cooking and heating.

Furthermore, peat is the source of many problems. It causes a fire, and it can burn finally as displayed in

figure 4, and a large amount of area will be destroyed in forests, shown in figure 5.

5
 ​ Figure 4:​ Peat soil can causes fire easily when gets too dry because it becomes highly flammable [5].

​ nnual forest losses from 2000-2012 [5​ ]​ .

Figure 5: A

Peat soil and Organic soil is found in “low areas with poor drainage," and they exist in horticultural areas

of Ontario and the northern and eastern areas of the Prairies (Stanley, 2012). Although peat soil has a low

strength and cannot be used for construction, it is beneficial in agriculture and usually used in crop

6
production due to available nutrients (Stanley, 2012). For increasing crop production, drainage of peat soil

is important and needed; However, drainage will lead to some disadvantages and environmental issue,

including releasing carbon and N2O from the soil to atmosphere shown in figure 6 and 7, which is known

as carbon emissions (Stanley, 2012). Releasing carbon or carbon dioxide will be having most negative

effects on climate and global warming.

Figure 6:​ The carbon sequestration in different levels [5].

Figure 7:​ The relationship between the increase in water level vs. CO2 emission, the higher the water
table, the more the CO2 emission will occur [5].
7
​Figure 8: P
​ eat soil can be classified based on ash and organic content (Leong, 2000) [11].

8
Properties

Organic soil and peat soil both are not suitable to be used as a foundation for construction because of its

different compositions and structure of its minerals. The difference between organic soil and peat soil is

that organic soil contains organic matters at a different range, but peat soil contains more than “75%

organic matter.”(Kazemian, 1970).

​ hysical properties of peat soil [5​ ]​ .

Figure 9: P

Understanding the properties and characteristics of organic soil is significant to be analyzed before using

for construction purposes since they are too weak and cannot handle too much load due to its high water

content. Peat soil mostly “originates from plant/animal remains after decomposition for a long period of

time” (​Kazemian, 1970​). Peat soil is used for agricultural purposes and is an excellent type of soil for

growing vegetables and fruits. However, using it as a foundation or base for construction is a different

case since its properties have been changed due to its carbon compounds and high void spaces, it cannot

carry large loads. Regarding its properties, peat soil has “high compressibility, high fiber content, low

9
shear strength, low stability, high moisture content, low bearing capacity, high liquid limit, low specific

gravity, low unconfined compressive strength, and high settlement value” as shown in figure 9 (​Bin

Ahmed, 2005​). Therefore, peat and organic soils are not acceptable to be used as foundations, and they

need improvement before using. Solutions regarding this problem can be enhancing geotechnical

characteristics so that the lack of strength will reduce. Since soil is taking all the loads from the

construction buildings, it should be strong. Therefore, any problem in soil must be treated because

engineering constructions do not accept any mistake.

Tests and Investigation

It is significantly necessary for any type of soil to be tested, especially peat soil before using it for any

type of project in order to observe its characteristics and strength. There are many tests that should be

performed for peat soil, such as the following:

1) Laboratory tests: testing a sample in the lab to analyze

❖ Unconfined compression test (UCT): to evaluate compressive strength undistributed sample of

peat soil in figure 11 (​Hashim​, 2008).

❖ Oedometer test: to analyze Consolidation properties shown in figure 10 (​Hashim​, 2008).

​ dometer device for testing consolidation [5​ ]​ .

Figure 10: O

10
 ​Figure 11: U
​ n​ confined compression ​device [5​ ]​ .

2) Field Test

❖ Hand auger test: is a tool shown in figure 12, used for collecting soil samples and classify soil type

according to its topography (Hash​im, 2008).

❖ Mackintosh probe test: is a test to find the strength of peat soil and its bearing capacity to carry the load

in figure 13 (Hashim​, 2008​).

❖ Checking groundwater: inspecting groundwater level should be a part of land evaluation for

strength and moisture content.

All of these tests are done to characterize its strength and properties, such as compressive strength,

Moisture content, Fiber content, organic content, ash content, bulk density, linear shrinkage, liquid limit,

pH, density, and Specific gravity test.

11
 ​ and auger test​ [5​ ]​ .
Figure 12: H

​ ​Figure 13: S​ a​ nd cone test in site [​5​].

12
Role of the Organic and Peat Soils in Engineering Geology

This project helps engineers to learn about organic and peat soils’ structures, compositions, and properties.

Whenever an engineer plans and designs for s project, he/she first needs to analyze the soil and have

information about its geological structure and substances in order to use that soil as a foundation.

Moreover, this project gives a hint for engineers to find a good solution to improve peat soil properties

(mechanical behavior) to a good type of soil for foundation according to its constitutions and compounds.

Figure 14:​ ​Collapse of the house because of the soil [​5​].

Also, this project is important to identify the benefits, uses as well as negative effects of peat soil for the

atmosphere. Since soil contributes to any construction projects, finding solutions or treatment for soil is

very essential. Peat and organic soils are not used for construction but finding a way to improve them or

develop those two types of soils help engineers a lot. Therefore, there will not be any problem for building

any kind of construction if the soil is treated and all the problems have solved. However, developing peat

and organic soils is quite difficult since they have many problems, and the main one is its strength; figure

16 shows settlement of peat soil because of its very low bearing capacity and strength. According to the

load path, the load from the top of any building will pass through its columns and slabs until it gets to

foundation and from the foundation to the soil. Hence, the soil should be strong enough and take all the

loads from the construction projects.

13
Importance of Peat Soil for Construction projects

When designing and planning a project, the ground base should be considered and analyzed as well in

order to see the strength and bearing capacity of the soil. In this short research project, the physical and

chemical properties of peat soil will be studied and explored.

The goal of this project is to determine the property, behavior, use, importance, and problems of peat soil.

Also, proper ways will be learned for the examination and improvement of peat soil and increase its

strength in order to be used for construction. The properties of Peat soil are way different in terms of

strength, such as compressive, shear strength, bearing capacity, density, composition, and water

absorption, so flooding will occur easily as shown in figure 15. Peat soil, which has a dark brown color,

generally is not suitable for construction due to its properties, such as a very low bearing capacity,

long-term consolidation, settlements, very low compressive strength, low shear strength, and extremely

high water absorption ability(Hashim​, 2008​). Also, there are some tests that need to be done to examine

peat soil before using it for foundation and construction. The tests can be “moisture content, fiber content,

organic content, ash content, bulk density, linear shrinkage, liquid limit, pH, and specific gravity test”

(Hashim​, 2008​). The strength of peat soil is very low and it cannot hold a high load because it's high

moisture content and saturation; the compressive strength of peat soil varies from 4.7 to 6.9 kPa,

Compression index varied from 2.43 to 2.84, and swelling index varies from 0.014 to 0.016 (Hashim​,

2008​).

14
 ​ looding and high moisture content of peat soil around the world [​5​].
Figure 15: F

Therefore, when a project is planned for construction on peat soil, particular methods or techniques should

be performed to change the strength of the weak soil to a proper soil with enough strength to carry the live

loads and dead loads of the structure. There are some ways to enhance the mechanical properties of peat

soil, such as stabilization.

Soil stabilization is a method of ​using binder materials or admixtures like ​cement, lime, fly ash, blast

furna​ce slag, calcium sulfate, and gypsum to close voids and increase the compressive strength of the soil

(​Abdel-Salam, 2017​). P​revious studies have stated that cement, lime, and water improves the peat strength

from zero to 4200 kPa when submerged in clean water (​Abdel-Salam, 2017​). This significant

improvement in strength allows engineers to build construction projects in peatlands.

15
Engineering Problems Related to Organic and Peat Soils

The properties of peat soil and organic soils are known as high water content, low shear strength, ​high

organic matter, and low bearing capacity. ​Regarding the project, those properties cause engineering

problems, and they are the the weaknesses of those types of soils, which hinders building construction

projects in a peatland. Peat soil has a very low bearing capacity and cannot carry the weight of a very

small building. Most of the time, ​long-term consolidation settlement happens when subjected to a

moderate load (Hashim​, 2008​)​. Problems occurs due to high water content, low bearing capacity, void

ratio, high permeability, high liquid limit, the low shear strength of peat soil. Those problems cause

subsidence, collapse in buildings, and settlement, as shown in figure 14 (Hashim​, 2008​). The moisture

content of peat soil is about ​555.55%, organic content is 96.45%, fiber content is 90.39%, specific gravity

is 1.24, bulk density is 1037.73 kg m​-3​, and pH 3.51, this high percentage of moisture content is because

below 30 cm from the surface is the groundwater (Hashim​, 2008​). It is a fact that having high water

content will cause having high void ratio and this leads to have high permeability and liquid limit.

Therefore, this causes having less bearing capacity in the soil because it is permeable.

The two main problems are shear strength and compressibility because they are causing failure and

settlement in structures. Properties that affect shear and compressibility are moisture content, Gs,

decomposition degree, and organic content. Shear strength is an important property of soil. Peat and

organic soils will deform or go to failure when shear strength is at its peak. This weakness in shear

strength depends on some parameter, such as water content, humidity, organic matter, decomposition, and

mineral content. It is known that the higher the water content and decomposition, the lower the shear

strength will become.

16
Another peat problem is high compressibility. “The compressibility of the soil generally consists of three

stages namely initial compression, primary consolidation, and secondary compression” (Kazemian, 2011).

The first stage developed due to the applied load, and the other stages followed due to applied load

throughout time​. Peat soil compression behavior is different from other soils’ compression behavior. The

followings are two differences between compression behaviors.

● Compression of other soil is less than peat soil.

● Creep has an important rule in settlement of peat than the others.

Also, there are some factors manipulating compressibilities, such as void ratio, moisture content,

fiber content, permeability, natural soil particles, and chemical bonding of soil particles.

Figure 16: S​ oil settlement problem [5​ ]​ .

17
 ​ eatland subsidence [5​ ]​ .
Figure 17: P

Several reasons that should be considered in the field could be the following, otherwise, problems might

occur on site:

(a)Drainage Issue (b) Site Investigation Practices are very necessary before building any project (c)

Monitoring, which is ​checking the accuracy of the soil ​(d) Construction Guidelines (​Mahmod, 2016​).

18
Previous Studies Related to Solutions of Construction on Peat &
organic soils

Peat and organic soils are mostly found in countries that are surrounded by water, such Argentina,

Belarus, Brazil, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, China, Greece, Malaysia, and Indonesia because

the percentage of water content in the soil is very high in the land of these countries. Indonesia is the

fourth largest country with peatland (Global Peat Resources by Country, 2001). Also, Malaysia is another

country with a high amount of peat soil area which covers about 3.9 million hectares land of Malaysia

(Zainorabidin, 2017). Regarding previous studies and researches on peat soil, it is revealed that it is very

challenging to construct projects on peat and organic soils due to its poor quality and settlement (figure

18).

Figure 18: S​ ettlement of peat soil due to poor quality of peat soil [5​ ]​ .

Past studies have found some effective solutions and methods for improvement of the peat soil property in

order to change the soil to be suitable for building construction on it.

19
Regarding solutions for construction on peat soil, there are some options. The first one is to avoid building

structures on peat soils, and the second choice is to change the properties and characteristics of the peat

soil; However, in this case, building the structure would be costly and uneconomical in that area (Huat,

2014). For example, in Malaysia, these methods were performed:

1) Pile Foundation

One of the methods is a pile foundation with aggregate arch shown in figure 19 (Hua, 2016). The piles

would be construction on a rough surface and supporting the aggregate arch, so whenever any load type of

trucks and cars come, the load will be transferred from the arch to piles and then to the rough layer

underneath the ground (Hua, 2016).

Figure 19:​ Constructing pile foundation underground [5​ ]​ .

20
2) Excavation and Earth fill

The second method is the peat replacement. In this method, the original peat soil will be excavated shown

in figure 20, and replaced by suitable materials or soil with the good engineering properties to increase the

bearing capacity of the ground for the purpose of forbidding settlement (Hua, 2016).

​Figure 20: E
​ xcavation and removal plan of surface soil [5​ ]​ .

3) Soil Stabilization

Another strategy could be treating the peat soil to meet engineering purposes, which is called soil

stabilization, this is illustrated in figure 21. Stabilized soil methods are most suitable and economical to

strengthen the soil using vacuum consolidation, columnar technique, and reinforcement methods

(Mahmod, 2016).

21
 Figure 21: S​ tabilizing soil process to increase the quality of underground soil [5​ ]​ .

4) Dewatering

Another plan of ground improvements could be dewatering schemes. Dewatering method is performed by

extracting well and recharging ponds in order to decrease the water table level, and in this case, shown in

figure 22, constructing sewerage and subsoil drainage system is very necessary (Hua, 2016).

​ ewatering strategy to reduce level of water table [5​ ]​ .

Figure 22: D

22
5) ​Groundwater Barriers

Controlling seepage flow of groundwater could solve high water content issue in peat soil during

excavation, and this method is called groundwater barriers; During excavations, the flow of water may

increase and will cause slope sliding (Hua​, 2016​). This method prevents movement of seepage flow in the

ground, slope failure, and instability, and it could be done through various mechanisms, such as gravity

mass, diaphragm wall, sheet piles, jet grouting, stone columns and soil mixing pile (Hua​, 2016​).

6) ​Lightweight Materials

Using lightweight materials could be another option for constructing small houses and foundation against

consolidation, such as lightweight concrete, figure 24 shows EPS, figure 23 shows Foam concrete, and tire

shreds (Mahmod, 2016). In case, when the ground soil was not weak and saturated, lightweight materials

would be a good option since it is not very heavy. However, it is very significant to make sure the weight

of the building or project is equal to or less than the weight of excavated peat in order to stop settlement

(Hua​, 2016​).

Figure 23:​ Concrete foam [5​ ]​ . ​Figure 24:​ White EPS insulation board [​5​].

23
 Conclusion

➢ The aim of this research is to give an idea about organic and peat soils as well as mentioning their properties

importance in engineering, problems, and finding logical solutions so that it could be adequate to be used.

➢ Since all types of engineering projects need site investigation to know the type of the soil and its properties

because the soil is one of the important parts in any project, we should know about geological properties of

the location very well.

➢ As mentioned before, peat and organic soils are weak, so they are not preferable for building projects, but

there is a solution for that, and it might be practical. Some of the problems were highlighted before, and

they are shear strength and compressibility as well as other problems.

➢ There are 6 main solutions for peat soil problems to be suitable for projects. The solutions are soil

stabilization, dewatering, pile foundation, using light materials, groundwater barriers, and excavation &

earth fill. Those have been used before, and they have given good results. Even though organic and peat

soils are unsuitable for construction project specifically, those solutions might be a way for peat and organic

problems because we cannot avoid peat and organic soils and not use the land just because they are weak.

24
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