• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.785-801
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• 2017

Biopolymer treatment of geomaterials to develop sustainable geotechnical systems is an important step towards the reduction of global warming. The cutting edge technology of biopolymer treatment is not only environment friendly but also has widespread application. This paper presents the strength and slake durability characteristics of biopolymer-treated sand sampled from Al-Sharqia Desert in Oman. The specimens were prepared by mixing sand at various proportions by weight of xanthan gum biopolymer. To make a comparison with conventional methods of ground improvement, cement treated sand specimens were also prepared. To demonstrate the effects of wetting and drying, standard slake durability tests were also conducted on the specimens. According to the results of strength tests, xanthan gum treatment increased the unconfined strength of sand, similar to the strengthening effect of mixing cement in sand. The slake durability test results indicated that the resistance of biopolymer-treated sand to disintegration upon interaction with water is stronger than that of cement treated sand. The percentage of xanthan gum to treat sand is proposed as 2-3% for optimal performance in terms of strength and durability. SEM analysis of biopolymer-treated sand specimens also confirms that the sand particles are linked through the biopolymer, which has increased shear resistance and durability. Results of this study imply xanthan gum biopolymer treatment as an eco-friendly technique to improve the mechanical properties of desert sand. However, the strengthening effect due to the biopolymer treatment of sand can be weakened upon interaction with water.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.277-282
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• 1989

Xanthan gum is a biopolymer produced by Xanthomonas campestris. In xanthan gum fermentation, the fermentation broth changes to highly viscous non-Newtonian fluid as xanthan gum concentration increases. Maximum xanthan gum concentration is limited by high viscosity of the broth since mass transfers of nutrient and oxygen are inhibited. Int this study the mass transfer effects were investigated in batch and fed-batch fermentations at various agitation speeds and by separate oxygen transfer experiments. Xanthan gum production rate was observed to be largely dependent on oxygen transfer coefficient; while cell growth rate was not affected highly by this factor.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.831-847
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• 2017

Conventional geotechnical engineering soil binders such as ordinary cement or lime have environmental issues in terms of sustainable development. Thus, environmentally friendly materials have attracted considerable interest in modern geotechnical engineering. Microbial biopolymers are being actively developed in order to improve geotechnical engineering properties such as aggregate stability, strength, and hydraulic conductivity of various soil types. This study evaluates the geotechnical engineering shear behavior of sand treated with xanthan gum biopolymer through laboratory direct shear testing. Xanthan gum-sand mixtures with various xanthan gum content (percent to the mass of sand) and gel phases (initial, dried, and re-submerged) were considered. Xanthan gum content of 1.0% sufficiently improves the inter-particle cohesion of cohesionless sands 3.8 times and more (up to 14 times for dried state) than in the untreated (natural) condition, regardless of the xanthan gum gel condition. In general, the strength of xanthan gum-treated sand shows dependency with the rheology and phase of xanthan gum gels in inter-granular pores, which decreases in order as dried (biofilm state), initial (uniform hydrogel), and re-submerged (swollen hydrogel after drying) states. As xanthan gum hydrogels are pseudo-plastic, both inter-particle friction angle and cohesion of xanthan gum-treated sand decrease with water adsorbed swelling at large strain levels. However, for 2% xanthan gum-treated sands, the re-submerged state shows a higher strength than the initial state due to the gradual and non-uniform swelling behavior of highly concentrated biofilms.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.445-452
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• 2019

Gel-type biopolymers have recently been introduced as environmentally friendly soil binders and have shown substantial strengthening effects in laboratory experimental programs. Although the strengthening effects of biopolymer-treated sands have been verified in previous direct shear tests and uniaxial compression tests, there has been no attempt to examine shear behavior under different confining stress conditions. This study therefore aimed to investigate the strengthening effects of biopolymer-treated sand using laboratory triaxial testing with a focus on confining pressures. Three representative confining pressure conditions (${\sigma}_3=50kPa$, 100 kPa, and 200 kPa) were tested with varying biopolymer contents ($m_{bp}/m_s$) of 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0%, respectively. Based on previous studies, it was assumed that biopolymer-treated sand is susceptible to hydraulic conditions, and therefore, the experiments were conducted in both a hydrated xanthan gum condition and a dehydrated xanthan gum condition. The results indicated that the shear resistance was substantially enhanced and there was a demonstrable increase in cohesion as well as the friction angle when the biopolymer film matrix was comprehensively developed. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the feasibility of the biopolymer treatment will remain valid under the confining pressure conditions used in this study because the resisting force of the biopolymer-treated soil was higher than that in the untreated condition, regardless of the confining pressure.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.538-544
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• 1996

A highly viscous biopolymer from alkali-tolerant Bacillus sp. was purified and its rheological properties were studied. 1% (w/v) solution of purified biopolymer showed pseudoplastic fluid behavior with the yield stress similar to those of xanthan and guar gum, and its consistency index was exponentially dependent on concentration and temperature. The concentration dependency of consistency index exhibited two rectilinear plots with different slopes at 1% concentration and pseudoplastic property increased with the increase of biopolymer concentration. The biopolymer solution exhibited a low temperature dependency and the activation energy of flow was 1.16 kacl/g mol. The apparent viscosity was very dependent on the change of pH and the addition of salt. However, no organic solvent effects were observed effects of viscosity synergism with the addition of viscosifier were not observed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.453-464
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• 2019

Soft marine soil has high fine-grained soil content and in-situ water content. Thus, it has low shear strength and bearing capacity and is susceptible to a large settlement, which leads to difficulties with coastal infrastructure construction. Therefore, strength improvement and settlement control are essential considerations for construction on soft marine soil deposits. Biopolymers show their potential for improving soil stability, which can reduce the environmental drawbacks of conventional soil treatment. This study used two biopolymers, an anionic xanthan gum biopolymer and a cationic ${\varepsilon}-polylysine$ biopolymer, as representatives to enhance the geotechnical engineering properties of soft marine soil. Effects of the biopolymers on marine soil were analyzed through a series of experiments considering the Atterberg limits, shear strength at a constant water content, compressive strength in a dry condition, laboratory consolidation, and sedimentation. Xanthan gum treatment affects the Atterberg limits, shear strength, and compressive strength by interparticle bonding and the formation of a viscous hydrogel. However, xanthan gum delays the consolidation procedure and increases the compressibility of soils. While ${\varepsilon}-polylysine$ treatment does not affect compressive strength, it shows potential for coagulating soil particles in a suspension state. ${\varepsilon}-Polylysine$ forms bridges between soil particles, showing an increase in settling velocity and final sediment density. The results of this study show various potential applications of biopolymers. Xanthan gum biopolymer was identified as a soil strengthening material, while ${\varepsilon}-polylysine$ biopolymer can be applied as a soil-coagulating material.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.138-144
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• 1997

A new biopolymer YU-122 from Metarrhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorok consisting of glucose and galactose was tested for its physical properties and flow behavior characteristics. Xanthan gum showed slightly higher viscosity than biopolymer YU-122. Viscosity of biopolymer YU-122 at various pHs and temperatures was also tested. The viscosity of biopolymer YU-122 was very stable up to pH 11 and $60^{\circ}C$, indicating that it has a great possibility for the application such as food additives, emulsifier, and drug release agents. Flow behavior index (n) from Power Law equation is 0.173. Biopolymer YU-122 solution was a pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluid, which indicated that it had one or more side chains. When biopolymer YU-122 was used as a emulsifier, it stabilized the emulsion up to 120 hours, which was much better than xanthan gum. The biopolymer YU-122 could form an excellent but less clear film compared with xanthan and pullulan.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.55-63
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• 2024

Xanthan gum biopolymer is an ecofriendly ground stabilizer that maintains stability in a wide range of temperatures and pH values. The binding effect of sandy soil particles realized by injecting xanthan gum biopolymer is dependent on the xanthan gum matrix, which is formed during the drying process; thus a study on the effects of the drying process of the xanthan gum solution on the changes in stiffness characteristics of sandy soil is required. In this study, shear wave velocity and electrical resistivity were monitored in sandy soil specimens saturated with biopolymer solutions of different gravimetric concentrations to investigate the improvement effects of biopolymer-treated sandy soils with the drying process. The experimental results reveal that both shear wave velocity and electrical resistivity increase during drying process. The results demonstrate the stiffness improvement effects of biopolymer-treated sandy soils. In addition, a higher stiffness improvement effect was monitored in the biopolymer-treated sandy soils with a higher gravimetric concentration. The results of this study may be used to estimate the stiffness improvement effects of sandy soils treated with biopolymer solutions with the drying process.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.259-267
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• 2022

The rheological and penetration characteristics of sodium alginate and xanthan gum aqueous solutions were analyzed for the development of biopolymer-based injection materials. The results of viscosity measurements for the rheological characteristics analysis show that all aqueous biopolymer solutions exhibit a tendency for shear-thinning, i.e., the apparent viscosity decreases as the shear rate increases. In addition, a regression analysis using several models (Power-law, Casson, Sisko, and Cross) was applied to the shear-thinning fluid analysis results, the highest accuracy was determined by applying the power-law model. The micromodel experiment for the penetration characteristics analysis determined that all biopolymer aqueous solutions show higher pore saturation than water, and that pore saturation tends to increase as the flow rate and concentration increases. When comparing the rheological and penetration characteristics of the biopolymer aqueous solution used in this study, the xanthan gum aqueous solution showed a fully developed shear-thinning tendency, unlike the sodium alginate aqueous solution. This tendency is considered to have the advantage of enhancement injectability and pore saturation.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.121-131
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• 2023

Clay sedimentation has been widely analyzed for its application in a variety of geotechnical constructions such as mine tailing, artificial islands, dredging, and reclamation. Chemical flocculants such as aluminum sulfate (Al₂(SO₄)₃), ferric chloride (FeCl₃), and ferric sulfate (Fe(SO₄)₃), have been adopted to accelerate the settling behaviors of clays. As an alternative clay flocculant with natural origin, this study investigated the settling of xanthan gum-treated kaolinite suspension in deionized water. The sedimentation of kaolinite in solutions of xanthan gum biopolymer (0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% in a clay mass) was measured until the sediment height was stabilized. Kaolinite was aggregated by xanthan gum via a direct electrical interaction between the negatively charged xanthan gum molecules and positively charged edge surface and via hydrogen bonding with kaolinite particles. The results revealed that the xanthan gum initially bound kaolinite aggregates, thereby forming larger floc sizes. Owing to their greater floc size, the aggregated kaolinite flocs induced by xanthan gum settled faster than the untreated kaolinite. Additionally, X-ray computed tomography images collected at various depths from the bottom demonstrated that the xanthan gum-induced aggregation resulted in denser sediment deposition. The findings of this study could inspire further efforts to accelerate the settling of kaolinite clays by adding xanthan gum.