Comparison of Crude Soybean Urease- and Pure Urease-Induced Carbonate Precipitation on Wind-Induced Erosion Resistance of Desert Sand

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation has been studied for wind erosion control in arid areas. A comparative study was conducted between the pure urease- and crude soybean urease-induced carbonate precipitation methods with the same enzyme activity for enhancing the wind erosion resistance of desert sand. Tube tests were carried out to monitor the amount of organic matter and CaCO3 precipitates at different reaction times. Two groups of sand specimens received several cycles of treatment with soybean urease (SU) and pure urease (PU), respectively, with urea or without urea. The treated specimens were exposed to wind-blown sand flow to evaluate erosion resistance. The results showed that SU induced more organic precipitation under the salting-out effect, which was 9.88 times higher than that from PU. Under the one-cycle treatment, SU-treated specimens with higher contents of CaCO3 and organic matter exhibited lower erosion mass. Under the multiple-cycle treatment, the high viscosity of SU and rapid precipitation of organic matter resulted in the inhomogeneous distribution of CaCO3 (more precipitation at the top). Once the top of SU-treated specimens was eroded, the sand below the top layer was lost rapidly, causing the erosion mass of PU-treated specimens to be 95% lower than that of SU-treated specimens.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su17072968

Authors: Yanbo Chen, Yang Liu, Yufeng Gao, Yundong Zhou, Bin Liu, Liya Wang, Lei Hang, Shijia Zhang

Institutions: Zhejiang University, Hohai University, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University

Language: English

Topic: Microbial Applications in Construction Materials

Subfield: Environmental Engineering

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

OpenAlex ID: W4408923696