Enhancing Evaporative Flux and Desalinization in Saline Soils via Porous Ceramic Inserts

Soil salinization represents a growing threat to agricultural productivity, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions where evaporation-driven salt accumulation forms surface crusts that inhibit further moisture transport. This study introduces a novel passive and low-cost remediation strategy consisting of vertically inserted fired-clay ceramic sheets that function as capillary wicks, enabling the simultaneous enhancement of evaporative flux and salt removal from saline-irrigated soils. Controlled laboratory experiments were conducted on soil columns irrigated with saline water (180 and 250 g/L) and equipped with one to four ceramic sheets (porosity = 0.33). Evaporation tests showed that saline soil without inserts lost 34 g of water over 120 h, compared to 47 g with one ceramic sheet and up to 68 g with four sheets. Salt extraction increased similarly, reaching 59% removal with four sheets versus 20% with a single sheet. Most extraction occurred within the first 72 h, after which performance declined due to salt crystallization within ceramic pores. These findings establish that vertically inserted fired-clay ceramics represent a viable, scalable, and low-cost technology for passive soil desalinization, with optimal operational cycles of 72–120 h recommended before periodic sheet replacement.