Transforming watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) rind into durable superabsorbent hydrogels for enhanced soil water retention properties and adsorbs dye in water

Autor: Bingqin Teng, Yuan Zhong, Jun Wu, Jiachen Zhu, Liqun Cai, Peng Qi, Zhuzhu Luo
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Heliyon, Vol 10, Iss 19, Pp e38656- (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2405-8440
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38656
Popis: Innovative superabsorbent hydrogels were synthesized from watermelon rind (WR), an abundant agricultural waste. The process involved free radical polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AAm) with WR particles activated by ammonium persulfate (APS), resulting in (AA-co-AAm)/WR hydrogels with high equilibrium swelling capacities of 749 ± 32 g/g. Notably, after eight cycles, the WR hydrogel maintained 94.88 % of its initial swelling capacity, significantly outperforming the (AA-co-AAm) hydrogel without WR (13.80 % retention). This durability, combined with excellent water retention across various soil textures and high adsorption capacity for methylene blue (MB), underscores the WR hydrogel as a superior soil moisture conservation agent. This study marks a significant advance in recycling organic waste and enhancing water management in agricultural soils, demonstrating the potential for sustainable hydrogel development.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals