Magnesia-based binders for stabilizing and improving soft soils

In this work, the improvement and stabilization of soft soils with eco-friendly magnesiabased binders have been reviewed. Magnesia-based binders have gained much attention recently due to increasing environmental protection concerns. Their low environmental impact due to reduced carbon footprint and conservation of resources make them a useful alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) for soil improvement. Further, their intrinsic characteristics, such as rapid setting and hardening without moist curing, are conducive to the rapid improvement of soft soils. In this research, the effects of incorporating reactive magnesia, magnesium oxychloride cement, magnesium, phosphate cement, and magnesium potassium phosphate cement in soils have been studied, and the corresponding influence on the mechanical, microstructural, and durability properties of MgO-solidified soils at different molar ratios, water-to-binder ratios, and curing times have been investigated. The results indicate a great potential and applicability of magnesia-based binders for improving soils under different climate construction environments.