Water Adsorption of Non-Saline and Salt-Affected Clay

Coastal areas where sea levels have changed due to global climate change often contain salt-affected soils, which exhibit different behavior compared to non-saline soils. In this study, the water vapor sorption method is employed to evaluate the water adsorption of both saline and non-saline soils. A humidity control chamber is used to measure the adsorption of soil samples over a range of relative humidity levels. Two types of clay soils, kaolin and bentonite, are tested under three conditions: no salt, 1% salt, and 4% salt by dry weight. The results indicate that salinity enhances the soil’s water uptake capacity at higher relative humidity, where capillary condensation is the dominant process. However, salinity does not have a significant effect on soil adsorption at low relative humidity.