Uso De Un Polímero Hidrófilo A Base De Poliacrilamida Para Mejorar La Eficiencia En El Uso Del Agua

Abstract

As an alternative in search of new options to reduce overexploitation of groundwater that allow us to increase agricultural profitability in water scarce areas, the behavior of a commercial hydrophilic polymer based in polyacrylamide (PAM) Lluvia solida®, was analyzed by evaluating the polymer hydration capacity. The tests that we used showed that this polymer is capable of absorbing its own weight in 268 times when using distilled water. When salts are dissolved in the water, the polymer reduces its water absorbing capacity, the hydration capacity being lower as the salt content increases, with a water absorption reduction up to 116 times its weight. The polymer hydration capacity also decreases significantly when a complete nutritive solution is used, reducing water absorption up to 55 times its weight; in the presence of divalent (Ca2+ and Mg2+) and monovalent (K+ and NH4 +) cations the polymer hydration capacity reduces proportionally to the cation concentration as an exponential function. Urea did not have any effect in the polymer hydration, thus this fertilizer may be used along with the polymer. The use of this hydrophilic polymer is a tool that improves the water use efficiency but the effect depends on water quality, being reduced by the presence of salts in water.

Response of Potted Citrus Trees Subjected to Water Deficit Irrigation with the Application of Superabsorbent Polyacrylamide Polymers

“…The results showed that the substrate moisture for T2 was kept significantly higher than T0, and T1, despite receiving the same irrigation rate as T1 and a half of T0; however, this higher moisture availability in the substrate of T2 was not reflected in the plant's water status or growth. The higher water retention observed in the substrate with polyacrylamide gels was consistent with the information reported by the authors of [13], who pointed out that polyacrylamidebased polymers are highly absorbent and insoluble in water, a characteristic that allows one to increase the water-retention capacity in the soil and/or substrate. However, the difference observed in the water retention was not consistently reflected in the physiological parameters and biomass evaluated in the plants.…”

“…All these results do not coincide with what was observed by the authors of [10,12,13], who indicated that polymers favor the development of the crop. In our study, the hydrogel used demonstrated effective water retention, which is evidenced in the higher water content of the substrate compared to T1 and even T0 in some cases.…”

“…Hydrogels, hydro-retainers, or super-absorbent gels are hydrophilic acrylamide-based polymers with a three-dimensional structure, generally made up of long-chain, highmolecular-weight organic molecules, linked by cross-links between the chains [12]. Polyacrylamides have the property of being highly absorbent, with a storage capacity ranging from 400 to 1500 g of water per gram of product, which improves the absorption and retention capacity of water in the soil without affecting its availability to plants [13,14]. The authors of [10] observed that the highest percentage of water absorption by potassium polyacrylamide was in soils with a sandy texture, while the authors of [12], evaluated the effectiveness of sodium polyacrylate in soil water retention, concluding that it improved the water-retention capacity of different soil textures, promoting greater efficiency in the use of both irrigation and rainfall water by reducing percolation losses.…”