A Low Cost Sensor Based Agriculture Monitoring System Using Polymeric Hydrogel

Abstract

Polymeric superabsorbent hydrogels are the kind of gels that are obtained by chemically synthesizing with hydrophilic polymers to form a 3D-network structure. These hydrogels have been extensively used in agriculture over the last two decades as an absorbent. The aim of this work is to use the polymeric hydrogel to increase the water holding properties of growing media such as soil and to develop a low cost system for monitoring. Two types of polymeric hydrogels were prepared and the swelling ratio was determined. A three times higher swelling ratio was observed at DMAA (90 wt%) than that of SMG (30 wt%) even though both samples have the same cross-linker (MBAA). In contrast to DMAA, SMG gel has a greater crystalline network structure as measured by mechanical and dynamic light scattering. Experimental results suggest that the DMAA based hydrogel is suitable for agriculture. A low cost, sensor based, monitoring system was developed that indicates the merit of the system. Superabsorbent hydrogels realized by chemical synthesis are a particular class of macromolecular gels obtained from hydrophilic polymers in the form of three dimensional network structures. The cross-linked based polyacrylamide does not dissolve. However, it can become a hydrogel when water is added.1 Gels look like a solid material but basically gels are soft and wet materials and are capable of large deformation with external stimuli.2 In the hydrogel, polymer chain networks absorb a large number of water molecules. The hydrophilicity of the chains control the amount of water in the hydrogel.3 There are wide applications in different fields where gels are potentially used such as drug delivery, 4,5 tissue engineering 6,7 and biomaterials. 5 Recently, the superabsorbent hydrogels have attracted attention from agriculture. Generally, polyacrylamide and acrylamide-acrylate copolymer based cross-linked hydrogels are marketed for agriculture.The water shortage in irrigation becomes a big issue in those areas where the underground water level is not enough. The salty water, on the other hand, in the coastal areas cannot be used for irrigation due to the aggregation of water salinity.8 Nevertheless, demand of water is expected to be 50% higher than today by 2030. 9 In this context, the water resource management could be a challenge in near future. 10It is difficult to guarantee that the appropriate amount of water is proficiently and sensibly delivered to the agricultural field. In the literature, several solutions have reported to address this issue.11 The optimization of water in agriculture can be achieved by developing innovative resources and digital systems for real-time monitoring. Therefore, superabsorbent hydrogel may be an alternative approach to the optimization of water consumption in the agriculture field, because hydrogel can absorb and retain extremely large amounts of water relative to their own mass.12 Additionally hydrogels will reduce the irrigation frequency, cost and reduce both erosion of soil and water run-off. 13From the agric...

Liposomes Entrapped in Biopolymer Hydrogels Can Spontaneously Release into the External Solution

“…32 Lastly, for chemically cross-linked gels such as AAm (at 10% monomer concentration), pore sizes of ∼20 nm have been reported. 33 One way to estimate pore sizes is from rheological data on the gels. ξ can be calculated from the following equation 25,31 i k j j j j j y…”

“…In the case of gelatin gels, at concentrations around 5%, the pore sizes have been reported to be somewhat smaller at 5–50 nm . Lastly, for chemically cross-linked gels such as AAm (at 10% monomer concentration), pore sizes of ∼20 nm have been reported …”

Agricultural Applications of Superabsorbent Polymer Hydrogels

“…Hydrogel prepared of poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) was also shown to be able to gently releases its absorbed water by a diffusion-driven mechanism when the humidity of the surrounding soil decreases [ 42 ].…”

Hydrogels improved parsley (Petroselinium crispum(Mill.) Nyman) growth and development under water deficit stress

“…Hydrogels are a type of gel obtained from the chemical synthesis of hydrophilic polymers ( Kabir, Ahmed & Furukawa, 2017 ; Qasim et al, 2018 ). Hydrogels retain their structural integrity and absorb water from the environment ( Montesano et al, 2015 ; Domalik-Pyzik, Chłopek & Pielichowska, 2019 ; Qu & Luo, 2020 ).…”