Molecular Characteristics of Cement-Lime Treated contaminated-Lateritic Clay Soil

Abstract

Abstract The existence of contaminated land due to industrial and mining activities is an important apprehension in today’s highly industrialized nations. However, the effect of these contaminants on the geotechnical properties of clayey soils can be modified by the chemical stabilization using traditional stabilizers like cement and lime, which result in achieving suitable material for construction purposes. Molecular characteristics of cement and lime stabilized contaminated-Lateritic clay soil presented in this research. This objective was applied by studying the induced alterations in molecular structure of cement-lime, and heavy metals stabilized lateritic soil using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. In current study, FTIR was performed to invistigate the molecular amendments in the structure of treated samples before and after contamination. Based on the results, the major vibrational bands were attributed to the kaolinite minerals. Furthermore, other bands appeared due to the presence of quartz and hematite. A new band was detected at 1462cm−1 with low intensity assigned to the carbonates, which was noticed increasing with time due to the producing of calcite. Also, it was detected a new sharp band at 1384cm−1 related to zinc and copper nitrates due the presence of heavy metals.