Title
Eco-friendly Improvement of Water Erosion Resistance of Unstable Soils with Biodegradable Polymers
Date Issued
2018
Access level
open access
Resource Type
conference paper
Publisher(s)
Institute of Physics Publishing
Abstract
The improvement of water erosion resistance of soils is gaining the attention of the scientific community. Erosion represents a threat to agricultural productivity because of the loss of valuable superficial soil and nutrients. Cultivation soils erosion is one of the main contributors to the desertification process, which is, itself, a global problem. Recently, polysaccharides have been tested as additives to improve earth construction materials with respect to their mechanical properties and water erosion resistance. This paper studies the use of biodegradable polymers to improve soil stabilization with respect to erosion by water. Aqueous solutions of the polysaccharides chitosan and carrageenan were used to improve wettability and runoff resistance of sandy and loose soils. Chitosan becomes positively charged when dissolved in dilute acidic solutions, while carrageenan becomes negatively charged. Their capacity to form polyelectrolytes in aqueous solutions may be a contributor in retaining cohesiveness in loose soils.
Volume
416
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería ambiental y geológica
Ingeniería de materiales
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85056646513
Source
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
ISSN of the container
17578981
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus