An Effective, Environmentally Benign Way for Soil Stabilization Using Xanthan Gum: A Review

The most widely used remedy when soil on a building site is weak or lacking in relevant characteristics is soil stabilization. In comparison to other stabilization methods, chemical stabilization is found to be most robust and extensively deployed. However, owing to the various environmental impacts of conventional chemical methods of stabilization efforts have been made to develop more sustainable ecofriendly techniques of modifying soil. Biopolymer derived from natural sources has recently been discovered as a potential substitute for soil stabilizing materials. Past studies explored the likelihood of using Xanthan Gum biopolymer in soil stabilization. It has been discovered that a biopolymer Xanthan Gum has remarkable soil improvement properties that may be successfully applied in a variety of geotechnical applications including shear strength parameters, lowering hydraulic conductivity, shrink-swell potential etc. The compressive strength of modified soil has shown a significant increase when xanthan gum is used as additive to modify the soil. However, the type of soil and the curing time influences how well a biopolymer interacts with soil. Huge additive levels and longer curing times resulted in samples with higher properties. Meanwhile, the inclusion of Xanthan gum greatly lowers the permeability of soil, which is used in several applications such as landfill liners and seepage barriers. This study examines the Xanthan Gum biopolymer's ability to enhance soil qualities and its potential to replace the conventional chemical soil stabilizing agents.