Potential for silica-based solidification materials as soil improving agents

In a series of studies, the authors have developed a powdery silica-based solidification material composed of heat-treated inorganic solid wastes with a high content of silica products (such as waste glass and waste fly ash) mixed with alkali aids. This material is most suitable for use with iron or steel slag, such as that which comes from a blast furnace or a steel-making process. The powdery silica-based solidification material mixed with iron and steel slag can be expected to exhibit higher mechanical strength and more predominant characteristics than a powdery cement-based solidification material. In this study, the solidification mechanism for the mixture of the silica-based solidification material, blast furnace slag and water is clarified from the viewpoints of chemistry and mineralogy by conducting X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy.