Durability Assessment of Biopolymers for Mitigating Soil Erosion in the Indian Desert

Abstract

In the present study, starch-type biopolymers have been used to enhance the strength of sand particles to mitigate erosion. The biopolymers, namely corn starch (CS), potato starch (PS), and tapioca starch (TS), were consumed with 1 percent, 2 percent, and 3 percent for 1 PV (pore volume) and 0.75 PV to stabilize sand particles. The biopolymer solution was executed using the spray technique. The biotreated specimens were investigated at various wind rates (10, 20, and 30 m/s) to measure loss during wind tunnel testing. The biopolymer showed the maximum weight loss percentages of 2.98% at wind rates of 30 m/s. Surface strengths (SS) were evaluated with a pocket penetrometer (PP). The average maximum SS was 181.42 kPa. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis were performed to check particles binding with 1% treated samples and were found as a good binder. The durability analysis, conducted using 5 wetting and drying cycles (WDC), revealed that CS demonstrated better results among all biopolymers used. After 5 WDC, the average maximum SS was 112.78 kPa. Among all used starch-type biopolymers, CS proved the most effective for wind erosion resistance. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Indian Geotechnical Society 2025.