Effect of various concentrations of superabsorbent polymers on soil particle-size distribution and evaporation with sand mulching

Zhao, Weijun; Cao, Taohong; Dou, Pinxin; Sheng, Jie; Luo, Minqiang

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39412-x

Cited by 28 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Chemical crosslinks prevent the dissolution of SAPs in water during the swelling process 16,17 . Because they do not become hydrophobic during droughts, these materials may support water retention and improve the water retention capacity (WRC) of sandy soils and permeable soils much more efficiently than can humic substances 18 . As a result, SAPs are characterized by properties that enable them to support vegetation growth and reduce evaporation and leaching of fertilizers and protective agents in areas with limited irrigation opportunities, where irrigation is necessary to support plant development and reduce water stress 19–21 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Characteristics of Absorbency Under Load (AUL) for Superabsorbent and Soil Mixtures

Misiewicz

Lejcuś

Dąbrowska

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Various applications of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) include the use of these materials in agriculture and environmental engineering to increase soil water retention. Under such conditions, there is water absorption of the SAP in soil under load. This paper presents the results of absorbency under load (AUL) of a cross-linked copolymer of acrylamide and potassium acrylate mixed at ratios of 0.3%, 0.5% and 1.0% with coarse sand and sandy loam. The mixtures were subjected to loads equivalent to 10, 20 and 40 cm of soil. The highest differences in AUL values for both soils, compared to the control sample, were obtained after 24 hours and at a maximum load of 5.9 kPa, which corresponds to a load of a 40 cm thick topsoil layer. The AUL was 71.4 g∙g−1 for coarse sand and 52.7 g∙g−1 for sandy loam with a 1.0% SAP addition, which corresponded to 24.0% and 18.0%, respectively, of the absorption in the control sample. All the conducted tests revealed a significantly low rate of water absorbency, which is especially important for capturing the water that infiltrates into the soil profile. The results demonstrate that water absorption by SAPs decreased with the increase in SAP addition.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Characteristics of Absorbency Under Load (AUL) for Superabsorbent and Soil Mixtures

Misiewicz

Lejcuś

Dąbrowska

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…A constructed soil that consisted of 40 cm of coarse soil overlaid with 10 cm of SAP/soil mixture with 10 cm of sand on surface was used to examine water loss (Zhao, Cao, Dou, Sheng, & Luo, 2019). The application of 0.2, 0.5, and 1% BM significantly decreased evaporative water loss at the 2 and 18 cm depths after 10, 20 and 30 d of evaporation at 23 °C and the authors recommended that the 0.2% rate would allow for normal plant growth (Zhao et al., 2019). The water retention abilities of SAP may also work well for irrigated soils.…”

Section: Superabsorbent Polymer Effects On Soil Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For a fine-textured saline soil, application of 1.2 kg m −3 (0.09% BM) of SAP significantly deceased cumulative evaporative water loss, compared to the control of no SAP, from 69 to 52 mm after 35 d of drying at 26.6 • C (Al Jabri et al, 2015). A constructed soil that consisted of 40 cm of coarse soil overlaid with 10 cm of SAP/soil mixture with 10 cm of sand on surface was used to examine water loss (Zhao, Cao, Dou, Sheng, & Luo, 2019). The application of 0.2, 0.5, and 1% BM significantly decreased evaporative water loss at the 2 and 18 cm depths after 10, 20 and 30 d of evaporation at 23 • C and the authors recommended that the 0.2% rate would allow for normal plant growth (Zhao et al, 2019).…”

Section: Soil−water Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superabsorbent polymer characteristics, properties, and applications

Ostrand

DeSutter

Daigh

et al. 2020

Agrosystems Geosci & Env

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Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are materials that can absorb significant amounts of water relative to their mass. The nature and properties of SAPs make them a widely utilized material across many disciplines. A systematic review was conducted to examine the use of SAPs within agriculture and environmental science. The method of application, rate, and the subsequent impact on soil properties were determined. Superabsorbent polymers can be used to improve and prolong soil water holding capacity, decrease drought stress, and increase time between irrigation events. There are results indicating SAPs can reduce compaction. Yield and plant growth characteristics were improved for all but one of the reviewed studies. While SAPs show potential as a tool, their economic feasibility on large‐scale and long‐term projects should be evaluated.

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“…Along with the increase in the amount of SAP, the fractal dimension of the pore space becomes smaller, and the volume of pores decreases significantly. The concentration of SAP in soil is negatively correlated with the pore space fractal dimension of the clay-particle fraction, silt volume fraction, and positively correlated with the sand volume fraction [41]. Given these effects, better understanding the water uptake dynamics of SAPs in soil is of key importance for the optimum application of SAP-soil mixtures in environmental engineering and agriculture, for which the dynamics and swelling of these materials and their interactions with soil are critically important.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Characteristics of Time-Dependent Changes of Coefficient of Permeability for Superabsorbent Polymer-Soil Mixtures

et al. 2022

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Water uptake dynamics of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) in soil is of key importance for the optimum application of these materials in environmental engineering and agriculture, so goal of this paper is to determine time dependent values of coefficient of permeability for various SAP-soil mixtures. Retaining water in soil is a key requirement in critical zones to support plant growth. There is an urgent need for technologies that can increase soil water retention, given the increasing prevalence of droughts and scarcity of clean water as the climate changes, combined with the rising demand for food by a growing world population. SAPs are materials that can absorb significant amounts of water, and thus have tremendous potential to help increase water retention in soil. However, while some studies have characterized the equilibrium swelling behavior of SAPs in soil, how their addition influences the time-dependent flow of water through soil remains poorly understood. Here, we address this gap in knowledge by directly measuring the coefficient of permeability of SAP-soil mixtures, testing different soil grain sizes, SAP grain sizes, and different SAP-soil ratios. We find that SAP addition can dramatically hinder the flow rate of water through soil—reducing the permeability by several orders of magnitude, and in some cases causing complete blockage of water infiltration, at mass fractions as small as 1%. In this scenario coefficient of permeability of 1.23 × 10−4 m/s dropped by a factor of ~10 after 14 min, a factor of ~100 after 36 min, and by nearly a factor of ~1000 after 63 min, eventually causing complete blockage of infiltration after 67 min. Authors concluded that in this particular situation the size and quantity of SAP particles was enough to nearly completely fill the available pore space resulting in rendering the soil column almost completely impermeable. Moreover, we demonstrate that these effects are well-described by a simple hydraulic model of the mutual interactions between SAP and soil grains, providing more generally-applicable and quantitative principles to model SAP-soil permeability in applications. Ultimately, this work could help evaluate the optimal proportions and grain sizes of SAPs to use for a given soil to simultaneously achieve a desirable permeability along with increased water holding capacity in the plant root zone.

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Effect of various concentrations of superabsorbent polymers on soil particle-size distribution and evaporation with sand mulching

Cited by 28 publications

References 17 publications

The Characteristics of Absorbency Under Load (AUL) for Superabsorbent and Soil Mixtures

The Characteristics of Absorbency Under Load (AUL) for Superabsorbent and Soil Mixtures

Superabsorbent polymer characteristics, properties, and applications

The Characteristics of Time-Dependent Changes of Coefficient of Permeability for Superabsorbent Polymer-Soil Mixtures

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