Soilutions

We'll clean it up: 0800 0209 307

  • Home
  • Services
    • Environmental Consultancy
      • Phase 1 – Land Contamination Assessment
      • Phase 2 – Intrusive Ground Investigations and Quantitative Risk Assessment
      • Remedial Options Appraisal
    • Soil Remediation
      • Soil Disposal
      • Bioremediation
      • Soil Chemical Oxidation
      • Stabilisation
      • Thermal Desorption
      • Soil Washing
      • Engineered Solutions
    • Groundwater Remediation
      • Pump & Treat
      • Extraction & Disposal
      • Groundwater Chemical Treatment
      • Air Sparging
      • Vapour Extraction
    • Oil Spill Response Services
      • 24/7 Emergency Spill Response
      • Spill Assessment and Clean-up
      • Oil spill clean up guide
      • Equipment Supply and Hire
    • Invasive Weeds Solutions
      • Japanese Knotweed
      • Giant Hogweed
      • Rhododendron Ponticum
      • Himalayan Balsam
      • Herbicide Treatment
      • Excavation & On-site treatment
      • Off-site disposal
    • Nuclear Decommissioning
    • Mobile Orchards
  • About Us
    • People
    • Careers
    • Industry links
    • Performance
      • Safety
      • Quality
      • Environment
    • Awards
  • Case Studies
  • Resources
    • eBooks
    • Guides
    • Case Studies
  • Media
  • Blog
  • Contact us

Soilutions

Specialists in the remediation of contaminated soils and groundwaters

You are here: Home / Services / Soil Remediation / Stabilisation

Stabilisation

Environmental stabilisation of soils is carried out with the intention of tieing up contamination so that the risk from contamination is removed.  This should facilitate the re-use of soils, removing disposal and subsequent material replacement costs.

Stabilisation treatment can give 2 benefits, removing the risk from contaminated ground, and improved geotechnical competency of the ground. Environmental stabilisation is quite different to geotechnical stabilisation, although they are both often confused because they can be closely linked.

Soil stabilisation

What is Stabilisation

Soil stabilisation come in 2 main forms, stabilisation and Solidification.  On the surface you won’t notice a difference, in practice they’re quite different-

Stabilisation involves the stabilisation of the contaminant in the ground.  This often is designed to change the contaminant from a dangerous form in to a less dangerous form.

Solidification involves reducing the mobility of the contaminant i.e. locking the contaminant in place to it can’t reach any receptors.

The Science behind it!

Stabilisation and solidification, we’ll discuss both as ‘STABILISATION’ below.

Stabilisation relies on the addition of immobilizing agents which reduce a contaminants leachability and bioavailability, this can be achieved using one of the following processes:

adsorption to mineral surfaces,
formation of stable complexes with organic ligands,
surface precipitation and ion exchange;
precipitation as salts
The stabilisation processes are influenced by many factors: pH, redox potential, soil organic matter content, cation exchange capacity, sulphides content etc,

Treatment Applications

Stabilisation techniques have been used for treating a wide range of inorganic contaminants and some organic contaminants, including:

metals and metalloids;
asbestos;
radionuclides;
inorganic corrosives;
inorganic cyanides;
solid organics (e.g. plastics, resins, tars);
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs);
polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); and
dioxins.

Treatability study

The selection of immobilizing agent depends on several factors such as, the type of contaminant, the initial contamination levels, the chemical-physical characteristics of the soil as well as the required target reduction. Thus a treatability study should be undertaken in order to demonstrate the efficiency of the potential suitable binders before finalising the design for full-scale implementations.

Application

Stabilisation can be performed either in situ (in the ground) or ex situ (out of the ground) often depending on the aim of the stabilisation process as well as the regulatory program under which the work is performed.

Advantages and disadvantages of soil stabilisation

Advantages

the contaminant can be stabilised in a relatively short time period
stabilisation can be used to treat persistent contaminants (e.g. heavy metals, PCBs, dioxins)
can be performed both in-situ or ex-situ
process equipment can occupy a relatively small footprint
the structural properties of the soil may be improved by treatment (e.g. strength, permeability)
the stabilised soil can be reused for construction applications or disposed of in a landfill for inert wastes
much greater cost certainty than the most other remediation options

Disadvantages

does not destroy or remove the contaminants
can be difficult to predict long-term behaviour
may require long-term maintenance of protection systems and/or long-term monitoring.
potentially significant final volume increase

Free advice

We're always happy to speak to you about any issues you may have. Just pick up the phone!

0800 0209 307

Free eBooks!

We have eight free eBooks on Phase 1s, Phase 2s, Waste Soil Classification & Disposal, Soil Remediation, Oil Spills and Invasive Weeds. Everything you ever wanted to know about these subjects but were afraid to ask!

Soilutions ebooks

Download them!

Follow us on Twitter

Follow @soilutions

All the latest news and interesting content!

Tweets by @soilutions

Quick links

  • Contact us
  • Environmental Consultancy
  • Remedial Options Appraisal
  • Soil Remediation
  • Groundwater Remediation
  • Invasive Weeds Solutions
  • Oil Spill Response Services

Resources

Our eBooks available for download:
Phase 1 Desk Studies / PRA Explained
Phase 2 Site Investigations Explained
Waste Soil Classification & Disposal Options
Guide to Soil Remediation
Guide to Oil Spill Response
Guide to Giant Hogweed Removal
Guide to Japanese Knotweed Removal
Guide to Rhododendron Removal
Certificate Number 10312
International Spill Accreditation Scheme
Constructionline logo

Copyright © 2003 - 2022 Soilutions Ltd. · Privacy Policy · Terms & Conditions