Publication: Effects of leaching ion adsorption clay on physical properties of soil
Loading...
Date
2024-08-01
Authors
Hari Chandru A/L Govindarajoo
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
In-situ leaching, widely employed for extracting rare earth elements (REEs), is notably prevalent in China due to its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and less surface disruption. However, in light of environmental impacts, especially recent landslips associated with in-situ leaching operations, there has been a notable surge in research examining the impact of leaching on soil properties. This research aims to investigate the physical properties of IAC soil that are affected by the leaching process and examine its effects by different depths of soil and different soil locations. IAC samples from Gua Musang ,1-2m, 2-3m and 3-4m depth of Air Puteh Kemaman were subjected to cone and quartering to divide them into before leaching and after leaching samples. Then, eight samples underwent characterization methods (XRD and XRF) and physical properties experiments (plastic limits test, liquid limit, and direct shear box test). At the end of the research, the leaching reduced plastic limit which are 37.2%, 35.4%, 34.3% and 32.3% to 27.1%, 29.1%, 28.9% and 23.0% respectively. Meanwhile, the liquid limt also reduced from 48.5%, 46.7%, 44.4% and 41.9% to 33.1%, 29%, 32.1% and 30% respectively. Overall shear strength decreased despite increased cohesion values and increased internal friction angle. The leaching effect also increased with soil depth, although some errors showed up in some samples due to systematic and human error. By comparing different locations, Gua Musang IAC had higher leaching effects than samples from Air Puteh Kemaman. The physical characteristics of the soil have changed due to leaching, either rising or falling.