Polymer soil stabilization with cement production, which can be as high as 1.25 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of cement. Polymer treatments modify the size, shape, and cohesion of soil aggregates by changing the interactions between soil particles. Because polymer-soil interactions occur on the surfaces of soil particles, the amount of surface area in the soil (in other words, its dominant particle size) is of great importance. Polymers have only weak interactions with the large sand- and silt-sized particles of soil, while they bond directly to finer clays. Although polymers mainly interact with the clay fraction of soils, they do change the
Parent rock Parent rock Parent rock, also referred to as substratum, refers to the original rock from which something else was formed. It is mainly used in the context of soil formation where the parent rock (or parent material) normally has a large influence on the nature of the resulting soil. For example,clay soil is derived from shale while sandy soil comes from the weathering of sandstones. The term is also used in the context of metamorphic rocks where again the parent rock or protolith refers to the original rock before metamorphism takes place. Parent rocks can be sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic.