Soil Structuring in the Presence of the Chitosan–Polyacrylic Acid Interpolymer Complex

This article presents the results of the study of a new soil structuring agent—the interpolymer complex of a chitosan biopolymer and a synthetic polymer of polyacrylic acid—applied to the surface layer of a light chestnut soil (Kastanozem) in the East Kazakhstan region. The interpolymer complex was obtained by mixing equimolar polymer solutions. The composition of the [chitosan] : [polyacrylic acid] complex was determined by the physical and chemical methods and was equal to [1] : [9]. The mechanical strength of the interpolymer complex film was higher in comparison with the films of individual polymers. When applying the interpolymer complex on the soil surface by a two-solution method, a significant improvement of the structure and deflation resistance of the soil was observed. The resulting soil structural elements showed significant resistance to water erosion, which was about 99%. The obtained results indicate the possibility of using interpolymer complexes for structure formation and improving the anti-erosion properties of degraded soils.