Sugarcane Bagasse Ash As a Green Stabilizer for Swelling Soil

Expansive soils are a major concern in geotechnical engineering, especially for light structures, due to swell-shrink behavior with moisture content variation. Lime is broadly used in swelling soil stabilization, but the use of industrial waste is emerging as a sustainable solution. Sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) is a by-product of the sugar and ethanol industry, with annual world production of around 10 million tons, and several times it has inadequate final disposal. So, this study presents the first evaluation of the feasibility of utilizing SCBA as a stabilizer for compacted swelling soil. For this purpose, one-dimensional swelling tests were done with compacted bentonite–sand blend/SCBA mixtures molded with distinct proportions (100/0, 93.75/6.25, 87.5/12.5, 81.25/18.75, 75/25), compacted in different dry unit weights (12.75 kN/m3, 13.75 kN/m3, 14.75 kN/m3, 15.75 kN/m3, and 16.75 kN/m3) with water content of 19.5