Soil pH Soil pH Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. pH is defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the activity of hydronium ions ( or, more precisely, ) in a solution. In soils, it is measured in a slurry of soil mixed with water (or a salt solution, such as 0.01 M ), and normally falls between 3 and 10, with 7 being neutral. Acid soils have a pH below 7 and alkaline soils have a pH above 7. Ultra-acidic soils (pH < 3.5) and very strongly alkaline soils (pH > 9)
Alkali–silica reaction ASR in the presence of siliceous aggregates and water is to maintain the concentration of soluble alkali (NaOH and KOH) at the lowest possible level in concrete, so that the catalysis mechanism becomes negligible. The alkali-silica reaction mechanism catalysed by a soluble strong base as NaOH or KOH in the presence of Ca(OH) (alkalinity buffer present in the solid phase) can be compared with the carbonation process of soda lime. The silicic acid (HSiO or SiO) is simply replaced in the reaction by the carbonic acid (HCO or CO). In the presence of water or simply ambient moisture, the strong