The first physico-chemical characterization of coastal sands in the Doukkala region (Morocco)

This paper investigates different types of coastal sands: sands from El Oualidia, Sidi Moussa, El Jorf Lasfar, Ouled El Ghadbane, Moulay Abdellah Amghar, and Sidi Bouzid in the Doukkala region (Morocco). The main objective of this paper is the selection of the best sand for use in construction. The different sands were subjected to physicochemical characterization by analytical techniques: analyses of particle size, apparent density, absolute density, water absorption, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total soluble solids (TSS), and salinity, as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These analyses revealed that the main constituents of the six types of sands are silica (SiO2) and calcite (CaCO3). This study could be very useful for construction engineering.