Cementing Soils via Electrodeposition

Coastal areas suffer from the disappearance of beaches and the disintegration of civil infrastructure due to soil erosion. Current approaches to mitigate soil erosion suffer from drawbacks, calling for new solutions. This paper summarizes the results of a research program developed at Northwestern University to explore the largely uncharted feasibility of utilizing mild electric stimulations to precipitate naturally dissolved minerals in the pore water of soils into solid forms for cementation. This work shows that such an approach, widely known as electrodeposition, can instantaneously trigger binding mineral precipitations in the structure of soils wetted by ion-rich solutions. The application of electrodeposition to marine soils wetted by seawater enables the precipitation of solid minerals of calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide that turn these soils into soft rocks. Utilizing this electrochemical phenomenon through techniques and technologies yet to be developed promises to offer a valuable alternative to current ground improvement methods.