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Experimental investigation of the feasibility of using drinking water treatment plant sludge in the improvement of sandy soils

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Abstract

Drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS) is a waste industrial material from treatment processes used in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) that is produced in large and increasing quantities around the world. Effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to burial and combustion should be investigated to solve the problem of DWTS disposal. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of DWTS reuse as a reinforcement material in sandy soil (SS) with full-scale laboratory model tests. The addition of 18% DWTS increased the load capacity–settlement curves by a factor of approximately 1.24. This was sufficient to improve SS to a depth of 2.5 times the footing diameter. Therefore, DWTS can be used as a base fill material for SS improvement. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that gaps in SS were filled with DWTS, and a more rigid structure was formed. These results show that DWTS can be considered an alternative waste additive material for the improvement of SS.

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Availability of data and materials

The data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and are available from the corresponding author [Esra Deniz Güner] on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank all those who assisted in conducting this work. I also acknowledge that this article is the original work of the author and has not been published before or submitted to another journal for consideration for publication.

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  1. Environmental Engineering Department, Cukurova University, Balcalı, Sarıçam, 01330, Adana, Turkey

    E. D. Güner

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EDG designed all experiments, established the system, analysed the results, and wrote the manuscript.

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Güner, E.D. Experimental investigation of the feasibility of using drinking water treatment plant sludge in the improvement of sandy soils. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 24, 1923–1933 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01448-z

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