A Preliminary Investigation on the Use of a Marble Factory By-Product as a Sustainable Soil Stabiliser

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on environmental sustainability in infrastructure construction, particularly focusing on preserving natural and non-renewable resources. Within this context, the application of chemical binders for treating excavated clayey soils stands as a fundamental solution in driving sustainable infrastructure development forward. This traditional approach maximises the utilisation of natural unsuitable soils as construction materials that could otherwise be overlooked or not fully utilised. However, the use of cement or lime could compromise the sustainability of the stabilisation technique due to the environmental impact of their production cycles. This research aims to explore the possibility of improving the sustainability of soil stabilisation using a new binder derived from an industrial by-product. The preliminary results of a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of the stabilisation technique of natural clay soil using a slurry material derived from the production of Sicilian marble. Initially, the chemo-physical characterisation of the raw material and the evaluation of the Atterberg limits and pH values of the soil-binder mixtures were performed. Then, the mix design of the stabilised mixtures was accomplished, and Standard Proctor compactions were carried out using different novel binder dosages. On the same samples, preliminary mechanical tests (i.e. penetration tests) were performed. Collected test results of the innovative mixtures have been compared with those obtained with the same clay treated with classical quicklime. The preliminary results obtained are promising since they prove the potential of marble powder to improve the properties of clayey soils as a replacement for quicklime.