Year: 1999
Type: article
Abstract: The agricultural use of polyacrylamide, PAM, as an additive\nin irrigation water has grown rapidly since commercial\nintroduction in 1995, with over l million acres treated in 1998.\nPAM provides both economic and environmental benefits by\nimproving water infiltration and reducing up to 98% of erosion-induced\nsoil losses — a yearly saving of tons of topsoil per acre.\nWith as little as 5 ppm of PAM in the first irrigation water to run\nacross the field, soil cohesion increases enough to prevent\nparticle detachment and erosion. Stable soil/polymer flocs result\nfrom PAM's high molecular weight (typically > 12 million) and\nits affinity to soil via coulombic and Van der Waals attraction.\nAlthough water soluble linear PAM is the only class of\ncommercial polymer presently used to reduce erosion during\nirrigation, other polymer additives have shown some potential.\nBiopolymers such as chitosan, starch xanthate, cellulose\nxanthate, and acid-hydrolyzed cellulose microfibrils reduce\nshear-induced erosion; however concentrations at least 6-10\ntimes higher than PAM are required to obtain the > 90% runoff\nsediment reduction shown by commercial PAM. The application\nof PAM in agricultural irrigation water and potential biopolymer\nalternatives to PAM are discussed
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
Funder: U.S. Department of Agriculture
OpenAlex ID: W1549559097