As the demand for civil and structural projects continue to grow across Europe, so to do the requirements to maximise the use of land and port facilities.

This increasingly means that parcels of land or areas within or around ports which have been set aside due to issues of contamination or chemical composition, are regularly under pressure for rejuvenation and re-establishment in terms of use and/or new development. Our team is available to assist any contractor or designer to a their stabilisation project using Ecocem GGBS.

TECHNICAL ADVISORY NOTE SOIL & SEDIMENT STABILISATION

Ecocem has invested significantly in research and development in the areas of soil and sediment stabilisation. We have formed partnerships with universities and specialist laboratories across Europe in order to develop a deep understanding and advance our experience with regards to the mechanisms that make Ecocem’s GGBS a highly effective component for resolving the issues and challenges experienced in stabilising soils and sediment.

Ecocem is actively engaged in both the supply and research of such projects and Ecocem’s GGBS has been independently tested and its performance validated in project related

laboratory studies in Ireland, the UK and in Sweden (Swedish Geotechnical Institute). In the Port of Gothenburg our GGBS has been qualified for, and used in, a major field trial in 2017 to demonstrate the strength and chemical stability of GGBS stabilised sediments contaminated with tributyltin.

Our specific expertise covers the following parameters:

� STRENGTH

� CONTAMINANT IMMOBILISATION

� DISPERSANTS

STRENGTHHigh content GGBS binders deliver greater overall strength and physical stability to stabilised sediments.

ECOCEM KNOWLEDGE:

� Extensive strength test data of Ecocem GGBS with a wide range of cements and alkali activators on a range of sediments and soil types;

� Impact of physical and chemical characteristics on strength development (particle size, clay mineralogy, organic matter content, water content, etc.);

� Extensive experience on XRD, TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) and SEM (scanning electron microscope) analyses to determine mineral phase evolution of hydrated GGBS + sediments, identifying crystalline phases that contribute to strength that are more prevalent with GGBS based binders;

� Knowledge on activators that can be used instead of ordinary portland cement;

� Understanding of key chemistry and chemical elements that contribute to strength in the soil GGBS binder system;

� Test data on dispersants to increase strength by improving rheology of binder sediment system and reducing water content.

CONTAMINANT IMMOBILISATION GGBS has a lower pH than OPC. This is more effective at isolating contaminants as the lower pH reduces solubility of contaminants especially heavy metals

and tri- ‐butyl tin (TBT) in stabilised sediments.

There are specific GGBS hydrate phases that contribute to

heavy metals encapsulation that are not present in OPC.

ECOCEM KNOWLEDGE:

� Extensive leaching test data on leaching of heavy metals and tri- ‐butyl tin in sediments stabilised with GGBS;

� Expertise on designing and carrying out leaching tests;

� Porosity data on pore sizes of sediments stabilised with GGBS- ‐based binders, and ordinary cement binders using microtomography measurement (lower porosity with GGBS);

� Measurements on permeability of stabilised sediments demonstrating lower permeability of sediments stabilised with GGBS;

� Identification of GGBS alkali- ‐activators that significantly reduce leaching of heavy metals from GGBS- ‐stabilised sediments.

DISPERSANTSDispersants, when effectively used, have the following benefits:

� Reduction of water content;

� Reduction of volume of stabilised sediment;

� Increase in strength of stabilised sediment;

� Decrease in energy for mixing and/or pumping.

ECOCEM KNOWLEDGE:

� Extensive testing completed on wide range of dispersants and sediment types with Ecocem GGBS;

� ‐How dispersants work in relation to clay mineralogy, clay content, organic matter content and conductivity (ionic content);

� Precursor treatment options to improve effectiveness of dispersants;

� Performance of different dispersant types, and rheological measurements for optimum dispersant dosages;

� Potential for dispersants to remove/reduce of organic matter content in sediments.

APPLICATIONS

� BROWNFIELD REMEDIATION

� PORT STABILISATION

� LAND RECLAMATION

� AGGRESSIVE GROUND CONDITIONS

Innovation Powering Sustainability

Ecocem Ireland Ltd., Block F1, East Point Office Park, Dublin 3

T IRL +353 (0)1 678 1800 | UK +44 (0) 845 434 8191 E technical@ecocem.ie W www.ecocem.ie