## 3 Results  
### XRD Analyses  
The diffractogram of TQ0 is shown in Figure 2, and Table 3 lists the XRD results. Figure 1: Comparison of compaction curves. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline
**Peak (20)** & **Mineral or Phase** \\ \hline
12.5379 & CH-K \\
17.9507 & I \\
19.8798 & K-I \\
20.9655 & Q \\
23.1378 & CA-K-I \\
25.3620 & CH \\
26.7273 & I-Q \\
27.9635 & I \\
29.502 & CA \\
31.4749 & CH-CA-I \\
35.1629 & K-I \\
36.096 & K-CA-I \\
36.6258 & I-Q \\
37.8289 & I-K \\
39.5101 & CA-K-Q \\
40.4333 & CA-K-Q \\
42.5911 & K-Q-I \\
43.2809 & CA \\
45.8791 & K-Q \\
47.2362 & CA \\
47.6467 & CA \\
48.6239 & K-CA \\
50.2228 & Q \\
55.1445 & I-KQ \\
56.7633 & K-CA \\
57.5188 & CA-Q-I \\
60.1192 & K-I-Q \\
60.8394 & CA-I \\
61.7166 & CA-I \\
64.7087 & CA \\
65.8359 & CH-CA-Q \\
68.3174 & Q \\
80.0447 & CA \\
81.5861 & CH-CA-Q \\
83.8804 & CA-Q \\
85.0752 & CA-Q \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: XRD results of TQ. Figure 2: XRD pattern of TQ. The peaks in the diffractogram prove the compositional richness of the specimen [37]. X'Pert HighScore allowed the identification of the main mineral phases:  
* Quartz (Q), its chemical formula is SiO2;
* Calcite (CA), its chemical formula is CaCO3;
* Illite (I), its chemical formula is K0.88 Al2[Al0.88 Si3.12O10](OH)2
* Kaolinite (K), its chemical formula is Al2 Si2O5(OH)4;
* Chlorite-serpentine (CH), its chemical formula is (Mg,Al )6(Si,Al )4O10 (OH)8. The diffractogram of TQ0 (Figure 2) has been overlaid with the diffractogram of each identified mineral phase in order to complete the analysis. According to Table 3, Figure 3a-c present the XRD patterns of TQ0 and assign the identified mineral phases to peaks in Figure 2. In order to ensure readability, the x-axis of the XRD pattern of TQ0 has been divided into three subsections (20 is 5\({}^{\circ}\)-33\({}^{\circ}\) in Figure 3a, 33\({}^{\circ}\)-53\({}^{\circ}\) in Figure 3b, and 53\({}^{\circ}\)-90\({}^{\circ}\) in Figure 3c). Figure 3: _Cont._  
In Figure 3, the peak at 20 = 73.0683\({}^{\circ}\) is caused by a different phase (i.e., Amesite): It is a mineral with general formula Mg\({}_{2}\)Al\({}_{2}\)SiO\({}_{5}\)(OH)\({}_{4}\). In Figure 4, the XRD pattern of the used quickklime (black curve) is overlaid on that of CaO (red curve). The highest peaks of the used quickklime coincide with those of CaO; however, some peaks are caused by the mineralogical phases of calcite (CaCO\({}_{3}\)) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)\({}_{2}\)). In Figure 4, the green circles highlight the differences between the overlaid patterns: The blue ones are related to CaCO\({}_{3}\) (20 equal to 23\({}^{\circ}\) and 29\({}^{\circ}\)), and the red ones are related to Ca(OH)\({}_{2}\) (20 equal to 18\({}^{\circ}\) and 34\({}^{\circ}\)). Figure 4: Differences between the quicklime diffractogram (black curve) and the CaO diffractogram (red curve). Figure 3: Attribution of the identified mineral phases in Table 3 to peaks of the TQ0 diffractogram: (**a**) 20 is 5\({}^{\circ}\)–33\({}^{\circ}\); (**b**) 20 is 33\({}^{\circ}\)–53\({}^{\circ}\); (**c**) 20 is 53\({}^{\circ}\)–90\({}^{\circ}\). The XRD analysis on the treated soil complies with the procedures exposed for TQ0. During the mellow period, the specimens were in airtight containers at room temperature and away from direct sunlight in order to preserve the state conditions and avoid the quicklime carbonation. Diffraction spectra of TQ3 and TQ5 overlaid on the TQ0 diffractogram are shown in Figures 5 and 6, respectively. In both figures, the XRD pattern of TQ0 is red and those of the treated soils are blue, while the green circles highlight the new peaks, which are related to the added quicklime. The highlighted new peaks demonstrate the effective addition of the treatment agent. Overlaying the XRD diffractogram of TQ0 (Figure 2) on that of TQ3 after the 7 d mellowing period (Figure 7), it is possible to observe the beginning of some changes (green circles in Figure 7). Figure 5: TQ3 diffractogram at day 0 (blue) overlaid on that of TQ0 (red).