Researchers at Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences received a national invention patent for the synthesis of novel sand-fixation agents on December 8, 2010. (Patent No. ZL 200710188572.7)

The sand-fixation agents were prepared through graft copolymerization of lignosulfonate, obtained from the effluent of pulp and paper mills, with aldehyde compounds and unsaturated acids. With good water solubility and biodegradation, the environmental-friendly sand-fixation agents enabled the crusts formed on shifting sand to have higher crushing strength and better resistance to wind erosion than former patented fixatives.

The sand-fixation agents synthesized from the effluent of pulp and paper mills are significant for ecological environmental construction in that they can not only fully utilize the waster water of papermaking enterprises, but also can be used to prevent desertification on a world-wide basis.