{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T09:01:33Z","timestamp":1790758893201,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790726400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["52508412"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52508412"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["52578538"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52578538"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["52508412"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52508412"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["52578538"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52578538"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Xinjiang Talent Development Fund","award":["5105250182k"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["5105250182k"]}]},{"name":"Xinjiang Talent Development Fund","award":["XJRC-2025-JY-YJ-GX-QNQZ-015"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XJRC-2025-JY-YJ-GX-QNQZ-015"]}]},{"name":"Xinjiang Two Regions Innovative Industrial Cluster Project","award":["2024LQ01001-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024LQ01001-3"]}]},{"name":"Technical Service Project of Xinjiang Communications Construction Group Co., Ltd.","award":["JJ-S228XM-QTHT-2025-011"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JJ-S228XM-QTHT-2025-011"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The carbonation stabilization method combines the advantages of high efficiency, low carbon emissions, and low alkalinity, making it a green technology with broad application potential for soft soil stabilization. However, in the practice of carbonation stabilization of saline sludge, the impact of soluble salts on the carbonation stabilization system remains poorly understood. This study investigated the mechanical properties and microstructural mineral evolution of sulfate ion (SO42\u2212) and chloride ion (Cl\u2212) contaminated saline sludge after steel slag carbonation stabilization. The results indicate that the accumulation of Cl\u2212 can lead to a significant deterioration in mechanical properties. We hypothesize that this strength reduction is not driven by the formation of chloride-containing expansive Friedel\u2019s salt; instead, it may arise from the hygroscopic nature of chloride salts, which reduces matrix permeability, hinders CO2 gas diffusion within the matrix and lowers carbonation efficiency. Notably, XRD and TG-DTG analyses identified no sulfate- or chloride-bearing crystalline phases (e.g., ettringite or Friedel\u2019s salt). We attribute this phase absence to carbonation reactions competing for Ca(OH)2 in the stabilized soil\u2019s pore solution, thereby suppressing the crystallization of expansive salt compounds. These findings collectively demonstrate minimal chemical reactivity between the steel slag carbonation system and soluble salts, revealing an intrinsic resistance of carbonated steel slag to salt-induced deterioration.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma19194177","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T08:17:27Z","timestamp":1790756247000},"page":"4177","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Strength Enhancement of Saline Sludge Through Steel Slag Carbonation Stabilization"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-1111-1523","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chunyang","family":"Yu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China"},{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Green Construction and Smart Traffic Control of Transportation Infrastructure, Urumqi 830017, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongliang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xinjiang Traffic Inspection and Certification Co., Ltd., Urumqi 830009, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wuping","family":"Ran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China"},{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Green Construction and Smart Traffic Control of Transportation Infrastructure, Urumqi 830017, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhaofeng","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weizhi","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China"},{"name":"Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Green Construction and Smart Traffic Control of Transportation Infrastructure, Urumqi 830017, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117587","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2019.117587","article-title":"The performances of the baking-free bricks of non-sintered wrap-shell lightweight aggregates from dredged sediments","volume":"238","author":"Peng","year":"2020","journal-title":"Constr. 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