Soil Stabilisation

Soil stabilisation is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution and can significantly reduce the need to dispose of unsuitable or contaminated material to landfill and import new materials to site to complete the work. The Pryor Group has used soil stabilisation in many of its most successful projects.

Soil stabilisation is the introduction of a reagent into the soil, which will react with the moisture in the soil or other material being treated and produce useful products, such as engineering fill or a cement based material (CBM) sub-base replacement. Stabilisation and remediation can be used in a variety of construction projects.

For the stabilisation of clay and silt based soils, quicklime is extremely efficient in its dehydrated state in reacting with moisture and would normally be the choice reagent. Lime can also be used where a dry agent is required in sandy and gravel based compounds and will continue to work sometimes months after the stabilisation process has been completed. Cement can be used as a replacement for lime in the stabilisation process or where a replacement CBM sub base is specified. Ground granular blast furnace slag (GGBS) or pulverized fuel ash (PFA) are other alternative reagents depending on the material to be stabilised.

For more information how on the Group can incorporate soil stabilisation into your next project, please call the Contracts Department on +44 1279 422432 or email

Many of the Group’s most successful and prestigious projects have involved soil stabilisation as part of the key construction process. Types of projects well suited for this include:

  • International airports for BAA
  • Major road construction
  • Retail construction

Benefits of Soil Stabilisation

  • Environmentally friendly
  • Recycling of materials
  • Reduced use of landfill sites
  • Lower landfill costs
  • Fewer lorry movements to and from site to remove and import material
  • Cost savings on contracts
  • Reduction in project time

Case Study - The Lakes Technology Park, Fenstanton

This was an extreme example of the use of soil stabilisation, achieving up to 70% dehydration.

The contract - to part fill in an existing lake with imported materials. The site would be used to create high value development land for commercial office buildings.

Following site clearance, excavated liquefied silt was placed in pre-constructed lagoons and mixed with hydrated lime. The chemical reaction between the lime and the moisture in the silt made the resultant materials dry and useable as part of the infill. As part of the chemical reaction any residual organic material was burnt off as analysis of the infill product had shown. Use of stabilisation on this project reduced movement of waste product offsite and the import of new material onto site.