A Review on Biopolymers as an Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Solution for Soil Stabilization

The impact of traditional stabilization method on the soil is now a major concern for all the researchers. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted by cementitious materials in the soil has made global researchers to think about materials quite sustainable that are eco-friendly too. While considering sustainability, there has been ample number of choices for soil stabilization. However, all the sustainable materials are not considered as eco-friendly and delivers an adverse effect to the soil. To overcome these adverse effects, bio products are introduced into the soil which has a promising future in the field of sustainable geotechnics. In this review paper, the center of attraction is biopolymer, an eco-friendly material which is derived from sources like plants, animals and microorganisms. There are enormous materials which are extracted from nature, a very few are commonly used in the field of soil engineering. Though biopolymers, such as Xanthan and guar gum have shown immense increase in the strength of soil when added in different proportions. When compared to traditional material with biopolymer, a very less amount is require to attain the comparable strength. Biopolymer has proved itself to be versatile in the strength property but was found to be lacking behind when brought in contact of water. Biopolymers for stabilization are suitable for cohesive and cohesion- less soil with higher strength, which makes it the best option in place of traditional technique.