Polyacrylamide and Its Fundamental Study for Further Practical Use in Korea.

The longstanding and wide use of anionic Polyacrylamide (PAM), a water-soluble flocculating agent, has been focused on food processing and packaging, paper production, mine and municipal waste water treatment until the late 1980's. However, its superior functions led the renewal of interest in its further implementations, which were to improve soil physical properties, to stabilize the soil surface structure, to prevent soil erosion, and to reduce turbidity in agricultural runoff. In contrast to US and other countries, the use of PAM in agriculture is new to some extent in Korea. The way in which PAM interacts with various soil and soil water properties, called adsorption-desorption process, is the key element to maximize the effectiveness of PAM and also determine the optimal dosage of PAM in the agricultural fields. Therefore, this study was aimed at derive the knowledge of the adsorptive/desorptive behavior of PAM to soil and soil-water properties, such as soil texture, organic matter, salinity and pH. The measurable effort on adsorption/desorption of PAM was achieved using HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) and lower/higher adsorptive/ desorptive affinities of PAM to soils were quantified. The findings of this study will add flexibility and reliability to use of PAM and to make one step forward in supporting sustainable agriculture in Korea.