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Chemoxy offers effective soil stabilisation chemicals. Find out more below.

SOIL STABILISATION

Soil stabilisation is a way of improving the load bearing capabilities and performance of in-situ sub-soils, sands, and other waste materials in order to strengthen building land, road surfaces etc.
There are currently many techniques for soil stabilisation in today’s market, including compaction, dewatering and by adding chemical material to the soil.
Soil stabilisation has become one of the useful solutions to treat the soft soils to achieve the required engineering properties and specification so that structures can be placed safely without undergoing large settlements.
The sand is effectively “glued” together by the grouting mixture.

soil stabilisation pic 1
In certain regions of the world, typically developing countries and now more frequently in developed countries, soil stabilisation is being used to construct entire roads on weak soil structures.
The prime objective of soil stabilisation is to improve on-site materials to create a solid and strong sub-base and base courses. In certain regions of the world, soil stabilisation is being used to construct entire roads.
In the past, soil stabilisation was achieved by utilising the binding properties of clay soils, cement-based products, and/or utilising the “rammed earth” technique and lime.
As technology has evolved, there have now emerged new types of soil stabilisation techniques, many of which are classified as “green technologies”.

stabilisation pic 3

One such technique involves the use of Estasol®, one of the chemicals in our portfolio of products. Estasol® is used as a hardener as part of a chemical grouting agent:

  • Estasol® and aqueous sodium silicate are permeated (injected), into the medium or fine sandy soil, or any soil that needs to be stabilised or strengthened for load bearing purposes.
  • Estasol® is known to be:
    – Readily biodegradable.
    – Water soluble.
    – Have low vapour pressure.
    – Give controlled gelation rates.
    – Penetrate most soil structures.
    – Non-toxic to the environment and aquatic and other animals.
    – An easy to handle liquid requiring no special handing techniques or practices and no labelling concerns.
  • A series of chemical reactions takes place:
    The silicate forms silica and sodium hydroxide in an equilibrium reaction, (1).
    Estasol® then undergoes sodium hydroxide mediated hydrolysis to afford the respective acid salts.
    As the depletion of sodium hydroxide continues, (as more acid salts are formed), the equilibrium is driven to produce more silica.
    As the silica production increases, it begins to uniformly precipitate throughout the permeated area.

soil stabilisation pic 4

The picture below shows a weakened surface, due to subsurface voids, poor compaction and water pockets (left hand side) and the effect after adding the chemical grout filling the voids, compacting the weak spots and reacting with the Estasol® to promote the formation of the silicate gelation to support the surface.

soil stabilisation pic 5

Thus through reaction of silicates with the Estasol® (hardening system), the soil is reinforced and stabilised to afford a soil which has similar strength, structure and decreased permeability such that it behaves analogously to natural sandstone.
Typical application levels of Estasol® are ~3%/m³ of soil to be stabilised (loadings vary depending upon geological composition and structure of the soil).

Typical Applications:

  • Embankments on soft soils
  • Support of strip, pad and slab foundations
  • Bridge foundations
  • Wind turbine (single and field) foundations
  • Excavation protection walls using reinforced columns
  • Slope stabilisation
  • Mitigation of liquefaction potential
  • Cut-off walls and barriers
  • Environmental stabilisation and solidification e.g. parks, man-made lakes etc.
  • Deep well oil drilling support well walls

Typical benefits:

  • Environmentally friendly
  • Biodegradable
  • Economical
  • Vibration free delivery
  • Flexible application
  • Ease of application and handling
  • Reduces construction cost and time
  • Allows building on previously unstable soil

Estasol® can be formulated into liquid hardeners for soil stabilisation and soil grouting. Through a reaction with the hardening system, a firm medium is formed analogous to natural sandstone. The advantage of using Estasol® as hardener is that it easily penetrates most soil types.

Estasol® and 2-Ethylhexyl Acetate are used in the formulation of products for the drilling and cleaning of oil and gas exploration equipment.

To keep up to date on all of Chemoxy’s progressions, keep an eye on our news page. We also encourage you to get in touch if you’d like to ask us anything about Estasol® or about the use of chemicals in soil stabilisation for the construction of roads, buildings and on oilfields.