Application of novel Persian gum hydrocolloid in soil stabilization

Persian gum as a newly introduced source of carbohydrate polymers obtained from the trunk and branches of wild almond trees of Zagros forests in Iran, has found wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industry owing to its unique structure. However, its behavior in soil environment is still unknown. This paper proposes application of Persian gum to stabilization process of a low plasticity clayey soil. A series of macro and micro scale tests including unconfined compression strength, direct shear test, scanning electron microscopy imaging, Stereo zoom microscopy, Brunauer, Emmett and Teller tests, thermal gravimetric analysis and Particle size analysis were conducted on soil stabilized with different amounts of Persian gum. All defined tests were also conducted on previously studied soil additives, xanthan and guar gums. The results confirm the successful performance of Persian gum in binding soil particles, pore filling, thermal stability, soil fluctuation and formation of large particles in comparison to common hydrocolloids.

Keywords: Carbohydrate polymers; Guar gum; Low plasticity clayey soil; Persian gum; Stabilization; Xanthan gum.