Effect of Different Minerals on Water Stability and Wettability of Soil Silt Aggregates

Knowledge on the effects of minerals on soil water stability and wettability is mostly gained from experiments on natural soils of different mineral composition. To gain a “clearer” picture, the water stability and wettability of artificial aggregates composed of soil silt and various proportions of pure minerals: kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite, zeolite and goethite, were examined. The wettability was attributed to contact angles measured goniometrically and to the water drop penetration time (WDPT). The water stability was measured by monitoring of air bubbling after aggregate immersion in water and the shrinking sphere model was used to analyse aggregates’ destruction kinetics. The rate of aggregate destruction in water increased with increasing mineral content and it slightly decreased for aggregates composed of all pure minerals except goethite. An apparent hydrophobicity period (a period where the bubbling stopped for some time), resulted most probably from the wavy shape of pores, was observed mainly for aggregates with low mineral proportions. Among all studied minerals, kaolinite increased the water contact angle and water repellency to the greatest extent. With increasing the mineral content in the aggregates up to 8%, contact angles decreased and then increased. Contact angles did not correlate with aggregates’ stability. Aggregates more rapidly penetrated by water (shorter WDPT) were destroyed faster. Water stability of aggregates containing all minerals except illite appeared to be higher for the more mechanically resistant aggregates.