Blowing sand

Unprotected, bare sand can easily be picked up by wind, especially when dry. This occurs in natural situations, sometimes at very large scale in deserts. A dust storm in the Sahara causes rush hour at the car washes in The Netherlands.

On a smaller scale, nuisance is the key factor. There is a touch of adventure in blowing sand on the beach during an autumn storm. When you live next to a new road construction project where large areas of uncovered sands lay barren, the pleasure of such adventure is quickly sandblasted away.

Site preparation

Huge amounts of sand requiring massive earth works are used in the low parts of The Netherlands for site development and road construction. Time needed for settlement and subsidence, or just planning issues, cause sand to be left uncovered for long periods. The top layer dries and becomes susceptible to wind erosion. The result: blowing sands and ‘sand blasting’ of the surroundings. Water spraying is used to prevent this. Applying novel, natural, surface treatment solves this issue.

Biological and cost effective

BISI offers a solution for the windblown sand problems, tested in the deserts of the western USA. A protective crust bound by natural cement is formed by spraying a biologically activated solution onto the sand. A very thin crust of a mere few centimetres suffices to prevent wind erosion. It has no effect on the geotechnical properties of the sand or the construction works: the sand can be handled, applied, consolidated etc as usual. The very thin crust easily breaks up in small fragments. This environmentally friendly solution uses only natural ingredients, often by-products from the food industry.