• 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.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.115-127
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• 2024

Biopolymer treatment of geomaterials is a promising technology with green technology potential that can help reduce global warming. It offers a positive environmental impact and a wide range of applications. This paper reports the results of a study of the mechanical performance of biopolymer-treated dune-sand from the Algeria desert. The sand was mixed with varying amounts of xanthan gum biopolymer and reinforced with polypropylene fibre. The study demonstrated that xanthan gum treatment improved the Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of unreinforced sand and fibre-reinforced sand. Nonetheless, the test results revealed that biopolymer-treated sand manifested higher resistance after drying. Based on the findings, the optimal quantity of xanthan gum for treating sand is 2%. The incorporation of fibre in the matrix increases the strength and failure strain. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis further substantiated that the biopolymer bonds the sand particles together and the distribution of PP fibre in the mixture, thereby enhancing compressive strength and durability. The results indicate that using xanthan gum biopolymer treatment offers an environmentally friendly approach to enhancing the mechanical properties of desert sand.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.535-548
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• 2022

Recently, the construction industry has focused on eco-friendly materials instead of traditional materials due to their harmful effects on the environment. To this end, biopolymers are among proper choices to improve the geotechnical behavior of problematic soils. In the current study, serish biopolymer is introduced as a new binder for the purpose of sand improvement. Serish is a natural polysaccharide extracted from the roots of Eremurus plant, which mainly contains inulins. The effect of serish biopolymer on sand treatment has been investigated through performing unconfined compressive strength (UCS), California bearing ratio (CBR), as well as wind erosion tests. The results demonstrated that serish increased the compressive strength of dune sand in both terms of UCS and CBR. Also, wind erosion resistance of the sand was considerably improved as a result of treatment with serish biopolymer. A microstructural study was also conducted via SEM images; it can be seen that serish coated the sand particles and formed a strong network.

• 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.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.658-664
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• 2004

To find a new utilization of rice bran, nine higher fungi were examined for the production of exo-biopolymer with macrophage stimulating activity from rice bran. Among the exo-biopolymers produced from submerged cultures, Lentinus edodes showed the highest activity, followed by Grifola frondosa, Schizophyllum commune, and Coriolus versicolor. L. edodes also had the most potent macrophage stimulating activity in a liquid culture rather than in a solid culture. In order to improve rice bran utilization and the yield of exo-biopolymer with macrophage stimulating activity, the treatment of Rapidase effectively increased the macrophage stimulating activity (about 30% increase), whereas the other enzymes (Econase, Viscozyme, Ultraflo, Celluclast, and Thermylase) treatments did not increase the macrophage stimulating activity. Exo-biopolymer with macrophage stimulating activity from L. edodes contained mainly neutral sugars (58.7%) with considerable amounts of uronic acid (32.2%) and a small amount of proteins (9.1%). Component sugars of exo-biopolymer consisted of mainly arabinose, galactose, glucose, mannose, and xylose (0.95:0.81:0.96:1.00:0.39, respectively). When the exo-biopolymer was treated with $NaIO_4, NaClO_2$, and pronase, the $NaClO_2$ treatment and pronase digestion had little effect, whereas $NaIO_4$ oxidation significantly decreased the macrophage stimulating activity (47.6% reduction at $100\mug/ml$). Therefore, the carbohydrate moiety in exo-biopolymer from L. edodes plays an important role in the expression of the macrophage stimulating activity.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.633-647
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• 2014

Biopolymers, polymers produced by living organisms, are used in various fields (e.g., medical, food, cosmetic, medicine) due to their beneficial properties. Recently, biopolymers have been used for control of soil erosion, stabilization of aggregate, and to enhance drilling. However, the inter-particle behavior of such polymers on soil behavior are poorly understood. In this study, an artificial biopolymer (${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan) was used as an engineered soil additive for Korean residual soil (i.e., hwangtoh). The geotechnical behavior of the Korean residual soil, after treatment with ${\beta}$-1,3/1,6-glucan, were measured through a series of laboratory approaches and then analyzed. As the biopolymer content in soil increased, so did its compactibility, Atterberg limits, plasticity index, swelling index, and shear modulus. However, the treatment had no effect on the compressional stiffness of the residual soil, and the polymer induced bio-clogging of the soil's pore spaces while resulting in a decrease in hydraulic conductivity.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.107-115
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• 1996

In order to study the effect of modified starch and biopolymer on the quality of smoked pork sausage, acetylated starch and biopolymer were added to the smoked pork sausage and physical characteristics, sensory qualify, and water holding capacity were Investigated. In the textural characteristics SA, SB and SC group were lower in hardness than control group. Cohesiveness was lower only on the SA group which was added by 0.6% acetylated starch. Adhesiveness was higher on the SA and SC group by addition of biopolymer. All treatment group were lower in springiness than control group. The effect of biopolymer and acetylated starch on gumminess and chewiness was evident but not constant In each group. In the mechanical characteristics such as hardness, springiness, gumminess, chewiness were indicated positive correlation coefficient, the other hand negative correlation in adhesiveness. The result of folding test was not changed in 20 days storage. At 30 days storage SB group contained the 0.6% acetylate starch showed the best point. The other hand the biopolymer added SA and SC group less acceptable, the biopolymer added SA and SC group, which were added by biopolymer and acetylated, indicated cap. 65% lower VBN value than control group. Sensory evaluation were not significantly difference in hardness, fracturability and adhesiveness but cohesiveness was higher in SC group. Gumminess was significantly higher in SA and SC group by biopolymer addition. Overall acceptability in sensory evaluation were significantly higher In SC group by biopolymer addition. Overall acceptability in sensory evaluation correlated significantly with fracturability, chewiness and gumminess. Chewiness of sensory evaluation and mechanical gumminess were not significantly correlated.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 2023

Xanthan gum and starch compound biopolymer (XS), an environmentally friendly soil-binding material produced from natural resources, has been suggested as a slope protection material to enhance soil strength and erosion resistance. Insufficient wet strength and the consequent durability concerns remain, despite XS biopolymer-soil treatment showing high strength and erosion resistance in the dried state, even with a small dosage of soil mass. These concerns need to be solved to improve the field applicability and post-stability of this treatment. This study explored the utilization of an alkaline-based cation crosslinking method using calcium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide to induce non-thermal gelation, resulting in the enhancement of the wet strength and durability of biopolymer-treated soil. Laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the unconfined compressive strength and cyclic wetting-drying durability performance of the treated soil using a selected recipe based on a preliminary gel formation test. The results demonstrated that the uniformity of the gel structure and gelling time varied depending on the ratio of crosslinkers to biopolymer; consequently, the strength of the soil was affected. Subsequently, site soil treated with the recipe, which showed the best performance in indoor assessment, was implemented on the field slope at the bridge abutment via compaction and pressurized spraying methods to assess feasibility in field implementation. Moreover, the variation in surface soil hardness was monitored periodically for one year. Both slopes implemented by the two construction methods showed sufficient stability against detachment and scouring, with a higher soil hardness index than the natural slope for a year.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2021

The resistance of soil to the tractive force of flowing water is one of the essential parameters for the stability of the soil when directly exposed to the movement of water such as in rivers and ocean beds. Biopolymers, which are new to sustainable geotechnical engineering practices, are known to enhance the mechanical properties of soil. This study addresses the surface erosion resistance of river-sand treated with several biopolymers that originated from micro-organisms, plants, and dairy products. We used a state-of-the-art erosion function apparatus with P-wave reflection monitoring. Experimental results have shown that biopolymers significantly improve the erosion resistance of soil surfaces. Specifically, the critical shear stress (i.e., the minimum shear stress needed to detach individual soil grains) of biopolymer-treated soils increased by 2 to 500 times. The erodibility coefficient (i.e., the rate of increase in erodibility as the shear stress increases) decreased following biopolymer treatment from 1 × 10-2 to 1 × 10-6 times compared to that of untreated river-sands. The scour prediction calculated using the SRICOS-EFA program has shown that a height of 14 m of an untreated surface is eroded during the ten years flow of the Nakdong River, while biopolymer treatment reduced this height to less than 2.5 m. The result of this study has demonstrated the possibility of cross-linked biopolymers for river-bed stabilization agents.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.20 no.A
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• pp.39-44
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• 2000

Highly viscous biopolymer from alkali-tolerant Bacillus sp. was purified and its solution properties were investigated. The intrinsic viscosities for crude biopolymer and biopolymers purified by dialysis or CPC(cetylpyridinium chloride) treatment were 58.24, 73.60 and 42.18 dL/g, respectively. The intrinsic viscosity of biopolymer showed the maximum value at the neutral pH but it was decreased remarkably at the alkaline or acidic pH. Biopolymer exhibited the property of polyelectrolyte, showing the sharp decrease of intrinsic viscosity by the addition of NaCl. Intrinsic viscosity of dilute solution at the low NaCl concentration was exponentially dependent on temperature and its temperature dependency was increased with NaCl concentrations. The chain stiffness, coil overlap parameter, and critical concentration were 0.09, 5.25 and 0.07g/dL, respectively. Temperature dependency on intrinsic viscosity of biopolymer solution was different each other at $45^{\circ}C$. Flow activation energies at temperatures above $45^{\circ}C$ were constant, while those at temperatures below $45^{\circ}C$ increased with increase of added NaCl concentration.