Study on Crosslink-Induced Gelation of Xanthan Gum Biopolymer and Its Soil Strengthening Behavior as Sustainable Grout Material
Publication: Geo-Congress 2023
ABSTRACT
Biopolymer-based soil treatment (BPST) research has recently gotten much attention for environmentally friendly and sustainable soil treatment and ground improvement. The xanthan gum (XG) biopolymer, for example, has a high level of competitiveness due to its effective soil strengthening and hydraulic conductivity control properties. Even though XG improves soil strength by building tensile biofilms among soil grains, its high hydrophilicity causes rehydration of biofilms, resulting in a loss in strength in the presence of water. In this study, we used trivalent chromium cation (Cr3+) induced XG cross-linking to improve the strength and durability of XG-Cr3+-treated sands. The unconfined compressive strength and cohesion of sand are all increased by the time-dependent gelling effect in XG-Cr3+. Furthermore, XG-Cr3+ cross-linking shows sufficient improvement of the XG resistance to water exposure, resulting in increased durability even under long-term submergence. This study found that Cr3+ induced cross-linking enables to overcome challenges of pure XG-soil treatment, and XG-Cr3+-soil treatment can be utilized as grouting material since long-term strength can be achieved even underground without further dehydration and heat treatment.
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Geo-Congress 2023
Pages: 322 - 330
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Published online: Mar 23, 2023
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