Improvement of Surface Erosion Resistance of Sand by Microbial Biopolymer Formation
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 7
Abstract
Direct use of naturally occurring microbes for soil improvement has recently gained attention due to their ubiquitous and versatile characteristics in subsurface soil. Microbes produce soft and sticky extracellular polymeric substances (or biopolymers) that are known to alter the hydrological characteristics of soils; however, the mechanisms and extent of such soft biopolymers in altering soil erosion resistance remain scarcely explored. This study explored the role of microbial biopolymers in soil erosion resistance. The surface erosion resistance of sandy soils was evaluated by using a hybrid erosion function apparatus, in which the model bacteria Leuconostoc mesenteroides were stimulated to produce an insoluble biopolymer. The results revealed that the microbial biopolymer formation increased the critical shear stress and surface erosion resistance, which the researchers attributed to the increased cohesion by grain-coating biopolymer slimes and the reduced seepage flows due to pore clogging. This study provides baseline but promising results on how microbially grown biopolymers can be used to improve soil erosion resistance.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning) (No. 2017R1C1B2007173) and by a grant (17CTAP-C129729-01) from the Technology Advancement Research Program (TARP) funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport of the Korean government.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 7 • July 2018
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This work is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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Received: Jan 11, 2017
Accepted: Jan 17, 2018
Published online: Apr 27, 2018
Published in print: Jul 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Sep 27, 2018
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