Sept. 30, 2011
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VICKSBURG, Miss. — USACE Environmental Community of Practice Acting Chief Christine Godfrey has announced ERDC as winner of the first ever Corps of Engineers Sustainability Award in the Green Innovation category.
ERDC's Environmental Laboratory (EL) partnered with ETS Inc. in commercializing the Biopolymer Alternatives to Petroleum-based Polymers for Soil Modification process that produces large quantities of biological polymers to stabilize and strengthen soil. Product applications of the process include increasing drought resistance of plants, erosion control, slope stability and dust abatement. Field and laboratory testing in these areas are ongoing, with successful preliminary results including a 95 percent reduction in water runoff erosion in soil treated with the biopolymer.
"The teamwork involved in developing this biopolymer has just been a great experience. The success we achieved in speeding the production and the multiple uses for the polymer are tremendous," said EL Project Director Dr. Steven Larson. "We look forward to a wide variety of additional applications for the biopolymer."
The 2011 Sustainability Awards encompass six award categories and are designed to recognize and reward excellence within the Corps in making the nation environmentally sustainable. The awards are modeled after the categories in the GreenGov Presidential Awards program and are compatible with the Secretary of the Army and Secretary of Defense Sustainability Awards program.