Synthesis and characterization of a novel soil stabilizer based on biodegradable poly(aspartic acid) hydrogel

A novel soil stabilizer based on poly-amino acid - polyaspartic acid (PASP) and its copolymer which modified by xanthan gum (XG) was studied to increase soil particle compressive strength and resistance to wind erosion. Due to its unique property, the stabilizer aggregated individual soil particles and formed crust. The sample compressive strength increased from 0.175 to 0.612 MPa and the wind erosion modulus reduced from 22.43 to 10.56 g·m⁻²·min⁻¹ after the 1% PASP hydrogel was applied by 1.67 Lm⁻² (1 cm of crust). The soil water content was higher than the control due to the polymer’s excellent water-retaining property. The polymer had no negative influence on seed germination and growth. The biodegradability experiment showed that PASP was easy to biodegrade and therefore it was safe to apply in the field. This work was presented at 13 ^th YABEC symposium held at Seoul, Korea, October 20–22, 2007.