DIY Enzyme Soil Stabilizer Mixture for Road Construction

As mentioned before, there are many enzymes products in the market: EMC Squared, Permazyme, Endurazyme, Paczyme, Earthzyme, RoadTech, UBIX, ECOroads, EcoMax/Nrzyma, Zym-Tec, Terrazyme, PX300, EnzymeRoads, Corchem 5510, Roadzyme, PaveZyme, EcoTerra, and many others. All contain nearly the similar substances, but the cost of these products are exorbitant.

Why not do it yourself..... it's so easy and not costly.

When mixed with water and applied prior to compaction, the enzyme acts upon organic fines contained in the soil through a catalytic bonding process, producing a strong cementation action which eliminates dust problems and erosion. The main bonding to the soil is the production of lime with the urena and the natural organic and "scholaed" spore in the enzym to the existant soil.

Here is a summay, contains of expired patents, avaible mixtures from the net and my own experience. Maybe you have to use more than the recommitted quantities of the above manutactures (35 ml/m³), but you know what is inside of your own enzyme soil stabilizer.

That's all.....

Dosage: For best results, add the fermenting  mixture in 1: 400 to the optimum proctor moisture contant with the soil. (sandy clay about 0,5 Litre/m³), calculate the mixture with water to the optimum proctore moisture content.

Note to the proctor test  to get the optimum moisture content with your enzyme: you will need up to 10% less water for optimum compaction! 

The additive increase the CBR of the natural soil (must have more than 5% clay content and 1 % organic ingredients) up to 250% during the next 28 days. It's important to start the reactions. Temperature around 40 grad Celsius gives the best results. Lower temperature takes a longer hardening time.

Results: Reduce the capillarity. Increase the CBR. Cheep, less than 30 cent/m³. Due to the AASHTO pavement design and the higher CBR with the enzyme stabilized subgrade, you can reduce the sub-base, and base course layers. So your road or traffic area will get more favourable.

Easy to use within the mixed in place method without hydraulic binders / cement as en replacement for subbase and/or surfacing for low traffic feeder roads.

Many variations of the above mixture are possible, try the best on our own.

The main disadvantage for the soil stabilization with enzyme is, that it do not fit to our regulations like AASHTO, SNIP,BS, RstO and other standards. Only soil stabilization with hydraulic binder is standardized. But the increase of the CBR of the subgrade to minimize the construction of the hight of the pavement structure.

There are a lot of international studies, to compare to the standard, but the enzyme stabilization always (mostly) fall through. Fact is, that the stabilization with enzyme takes a longer time, compare with cement, to get harden.

In addition, this soil consolidation is unfortunately not suitable for regions with frost. Moist soil loses its bearing capacity after freeze-thaw change.
Therefore, this consolidation is not suitable for our latitudes (Germany).

So, we can not use the enzyme soil stabilization in Germany, because it's not an "European Standard". That's the reason to give the recipe to you, to make it puplic in you country. High outside temperature is recommended. 

For sure, it makes your soil more resistant to dynamic traffic loads and a higher CBR under soaked conditions, and it's better for our environment.

See soaked test for one week in water, sorry it is not a standard. But it shows easily the results:  Increase of the soaked CBR.....

Michael