Perma-Zyme has been a popular stabilizer for unpaved roads and paved road subbases for more than 50 years, with customers in over 25 countries worldwide. But, you may not realize that Perma-Zyme can do even more! Our customers have used it for everything from private walking paths to oil and gas drilling pads.
We’ll explore 13 ways to use Perma-Zyme for projects other than roads:
We’ll also let you in on the one project you shouldn’t use Perma-Zyme for (and why). So, let’s get started.
Perma-Zyme is designed to support the weight of traffic from vehicles, equipment, people, and animals—not the weight of buildings. Building foundations require contractors to meet even more strenuous specifications, so it’s better to use concrete for those projects.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about all the incredible ways you can use Perma-Zyme!
Perma-Zyme’s primary purpose is to harden and stabilize soil. And the qualities that make it a great soil stabilizer also significantly reduce dust. Perma-Zyme creates a concrete-like surface that locks in soil, so fewer particles escape into the air. That’s good news since dust control is crucial to health and safety.
Perma-Zyme’s dust control properties are especially helpful for industries where dust has the greatest impact on safety and production. For example, mines can use it to reduce dust on site roads, helping them comply with MSHA’s respirable silica regulations and protect people from airborne particulate matter. Solar farms use Perma-Zyme to keep dust off panels so they generate energy more efficiently.
In addition to keeping dust off solar panels, Perma-Zyme is ideal for constructing firebreaks. It creates a hard surface that will stop fires from spreading and won’t regrow vegetation that could burn. Plus, it helps keep dust from coating and overheating equipment.
You can also use Perma-Zyme to build pads for solar panels and equipment. Inverters and transformers are heavy enough to break down untreated soil—as is traffic from equipment and vehicles that come onsite for construction and maintenance. One Perma-Zyme treatment can stabilize and strengthen multiple acres of soil.
Just be sure to consider drainage when you stabilize large areas: since Perma-Zyme makes soil almost completely impermeable to water, features like drainage ditches will help manage runoff effectively.
You can't afford to let shifting soil harm your drilling site, equipment, the environment, or worse, workers and nearby communities. Perma-Zyme strengthens soil up to 13 times to support the weight of wellheads, oil pumpjacks, gas production units, water tanks, and heavy-duty trucks and equipment. It’s also ideal for treating pipeline beds to ensure that the soil—and therefore the pipes—remain in place.
You may also find Perma-Zyme useful for constructing containment systems. It can serve as a secondary liner—in conjunction with a geosynthetic liner, for example—to prevent leaks and environmental hazards.
By “utility infrastructure,” we mean anything related to utilities and their equipment: power lines, power generation equipment, natural gas and petroleum pipelines, waste transfer stations, wastewater treatment centers, and so on.
All utility infrastructure requires stable soil to support it—often with an additional need to prevent leaks and seepage. Perma-Zyme is a practical solution that creates durable surfaces that are nearly completely impermeable to water. This helps utility operators minimize maintenance to their pipelines, equipment pads, and other infrastructure.
Want to eliminate odors from wastewater and remediate waste solids? Try our all-natural microbial cleaner and odor eliminator, Bacto-Zyme.
When you put heavy objects on soft soil, it’s no contest. The heavy objects will win every time! It’s a simple matter of physics (and common sense). So, you need a soil stabilizer that has the load-bearing capacity to withstand heavy weight.
From shipping containers in Honduras to earthmoving equipment here in the U.S., our customers have used Perma-Zyme to turn ordinary soil into durable, concrete-like storage pads that can handle the weight of these heavy objects—plus the heavy trucks and cranes that transport them.
Slopes and embankments erode faster than flat land because rain and snowmelt run down their steep grades, washing away soil and rock. Perma-Zyme’s water-resistant properties counteract erosion by locking in soil, so water can’t wash it away. It works for many types of slopes, including:
Keep in mind that compaction is the key to a successful Perma-Zyme application—and slopes are harder to compact than flat ground. If it will be extremely difficult to get compacting equipment onto your slope, talk to a Perma-Zyme expert about how to optimize your application.
Perma-Zyme transforms unpaved runways into smooth, concrete-like surfaces for private and/or rural airstrips. It works in all climates, so you can use it to improve your takeoffs and landings from anywhere—deserts, mountains, even remote arctic villages. (Yep, we have customers as far north as Alaska!)
Just be sure to follow the temperature guidelines: apply Perma-Zyme when the temperature will stay between 40°F and 115°F for at least 72 hours afterward. Colder weather could slow down the enzymes so the soil won’t cure properly, and hotter weather could destroy them entirely. Sticking to the proper operating temperatures helps achieve best results.
Since Perma-Zyme is a great road stabilizer, it’s no surprise that it works well for parking areas, too. Quality parking is crucial for any homeowner, business, or municipality. It helps prevent costly damage to vehicles and equipment—lowering the overall operating costs.
Whether you’re parking light passenger vehicles or heavy trucks, you need a soil stabilizer that can handle the weight and traffic. Our customers trust Perma-Zyme to prevent major surface issues like potholes, ruts, and washboarding with just one treatment. Treating the soil to a depth of only six inches sustains passenger vehicle traffic, while a 12-inch depth is effective for heavy vehicles.
Driveways are technically roads, but since most folks don't think of them that way, we’re including them here. Just like any road, driveways benefit from Perma-Zyme.
Perma-Zyme prevents dirt and gravel from washing away and drastically reduces dust on unpaved surfaces. For paved driveways, it turns native soil into a strong subbase so you can use a thinner asphalt topcoat and reduce or eliminate the need for aggregate hauling—saving you time and money. Best of all, results last over a decade with minimal maintenance.
Livestock erodes soil simply by walking on it. That eroded soil becomes dusty in the summer. And in the winter, it turns into mud so thick it'll suck the boots off your feet. We recommend applying Perma-Zyme under high-traffic areas—like loading chutes, gates, feeding stations, water tanks, short-term corrals, and training facilities—to prevent erosion and increase the lifespan of your facilities.
During the application, you can add a gravel topcoat for extra traction. Or, you can add softer material for cushion and footing. One customer in Indiana used Perma-Zyme to create a smooth, stable base for his horseback riding arena; then, he topped it off with a layer of sand and lime for safe, comfortable footing.
Fun fact: Zoos also use Perma-Zyme to prevent erosion in enclosures, make entrances and exits safer, and create stable walking and driving paths for guests.
Perma-Zyme is 100% natural, non-toxic, and non-hazardous. So, it’s safe to use around animals. That said, we recommend that you don’t treat the areas where your animals spend most of their time. Perma-Zyme creates a hard, concrete-like surface that could damage their hooves and joints if they stand on it for too long. And as we mentioned, Perma-Zyme makes soil water-resistant, so plan to drain excess water from treated areas.
For more info on using Perma-Zyme around livestock and crops, check out our blog, Building a Low-Cost Farm Road.
Perma-Zyme effectively seals pond and lake beds so they won’t lose water over time. Apply Perma-Zyme when constructing a new water feature, or use it to repair existing lakes and ponds that are leaking. Perma-Zyme works for decorative lakes and ponds for business and residential properties, as well as recreational fishing ponds.
Farmers can even use Perma-Zyme in livestock ponds. We do recommend providing animals with another water source during Perma-Zyme’s 72-hour curing period. The enzymes in Perma-Zyme are not toxic, but they aren’t meant for ingestion, either. Consuming high concentrations can cause an upset stomach, so providing a temporary water source is a precaution that keeps your animals feeling good until the Perma-Zyme settles to the bottom of the pond.
Fun fact: Contractors in Las Vegas used Perma-Zyme to line The Lakes neighborhood’s premier water feature, the 30-acre Lake Sahara, in the 1970s.
You work hard to make your property look good. So, it’s frustrating when weather and soil conditions negatively impact its curb appeal. Even more so when that unattractive erosion starts to endanger people and things around it. Thankfully, you can use Perma-Zyme to keep your property safe and beautiful by stabilizing your landscape.
Perma-Zyme is 100% organic and eco-friendly, so it won’t hurt your plants. Just remember to leave some untreated soil around plants so they have room to grow, since they can’t grow through Perma-Zyme’s hard surface. You’ll also need a tiller (not just a shovel) to break up treated soil if you decide to redo your landscaping later.
When it comes to outdoor recreation, few things can ruin a good time faster than mud, dust, and washed-out trails. So, Perma-Zyme is here to help! You can use it for a wide variety of recreational areas:
You can also use Perma-Zyme to create a subbase for paving any of these areas. Simply apply Perma-Zyme and let it cure for 72 hours. Then, spray the surface with a highly diluted solution of Perma-Zyme and water (1:10,000) and apply concrete or asphalt for results that last 20+ years with minimal maintenance.
Perma-Zyme is an excellent road stabilizer—and more. With over a dozen practical uses, there’s truly something for everyone! Behind every project we’ve talked about, there are real people: mine operators, petroleum engineers, freight shippers, pilots, homeowners, business owners, farmers, outdoor enthusiasts, parents… and you.
Consider how your company or community could benefit from better soil stabilization. The possibilities are endless with Perma-Zyme! That just leaves one question: how will you use it?
No Comments Yet
Let us know what you think