Soil Stabilizer
Soil stabilizers act by binding soil particles together, improving water resistance and/or making compaction easier to perform. Basic soil stabilization materials fall into two categories: manufactured products and waste products. The most common manufactured soil stabilizers are Lime and Portland Cement, while the most common waste or by-products that are used as soil stabilizers are Fly Ash and Cement Kiln Dust (CKD).
The forms of Lime used for soil stabilization are Quicklime, Hydrated Lime, and Lime Kiln Dust. Lime as a soil stabilizer does have limited application, primarily as it is successful only in treatment of clay soils with certain particle size distribution and plasticity. Also, the presence of organic matter or sulphates in soils, even at low concentrations makes stabilization with Lime difficult.
Cement as a soil stabilizer for soil also does not have broad application as it requires a certain particle size distribution and does not tolerate a lot of clay or the presence of organic material. It is also not suitable for regions with large temperature extremes, since cement treated soil can crack due to freeze/thaw cycles.
Fly ash is a by-product from coal-burning power plants. Its effectiveness as a soil stabilizer depends on the type of coal burned and the type of combustion process used. If the Fly Ash does not contain enough Lime, an activator may have to be used with it for it to be an effective soil stabilizer. There are also environmental concerns associated with the use of Fly Ash due to the heavy metals it contains.
Cement kiln dust (CKD), a by-product of cement production, also has to contain enough Lime in order to be an effective soil stabilizer. CKD treated soil is also prone to cracking from freeze/thaw cycles similar to cement treated soil.
Olive & Branch M&D offers a soil stabilizer that is environmentally friendly, and that is able to treat and stabilize all 17 AASHTO soil classifications except A-8 Peat. Furthermore, application procedure is greatly simplified by using only a water truck, reclaimer, compactor, grader, and roller. Stabilized surfaces are operable within a few hours.
Check out the soil stabilizer product pages below to learn more about the products we carry.
