Experimental Research of Low Liquid Limit Silt Stabilized by Lignin in the Flooding Area of Yellow River

Adding stabilizers is a common method to improve the engineering properties of problematic soil such as silt. Although many traditional stabilizers (cement, lime, fly ash, etc.) have been widely adopted for ground improvement, they often adversely affect the surrounding soil and groundwater environment. To seek an alternative stabilizer that could eliminate these disadvantages, this paper presents a study of low liquid limit silt in the flooding area of Yellow River stabilized by lignin (an industrial by-product). The compaction performance, compressive strength and water stability of the stabilized silt with lignin was studied through laboratory tests. Tests results indicate that lignin has a great potential to improve engineering properties of silt. The compressive strength of the stabilized silt increases with both the increase of lignin content and curing age. Moreover, lignin can effectively improve the water stability of silt, and the best content of lignin is 12% for the silt studied in this paper.