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Recycling Natural Fibre to Superabsorbent Hydrogel Composite for Conservation of Irrigation Water in Semi-arid Regions

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Abstract

Purpose

Effective management of the issues related to increasing water scarcity in semi-arid regions needs special attention to minimize the negative influence of water stress conditions and prevent soil degradation to ensure global food security.

Methods

The present study develops an eco-friendly, low-cost superabsorbent hydrogel composite (SHC) through recycling natural fibre using graft polymerization method. Effectiveness of the synthesized SHC for conservation of irrigation water was investigated by measuring its water absorbency in different salt, and pH solutions, reswelling capacity, and the soil–water retention curve (SWRC) of SHC amended soil.

Results

The synthesized SHC showed water absorbency of 342 g/g in distilled water, indicating its suitability for agricultural application. The SHC showed excellent re-swelling characteristics for more than eight alternate wetting–drying cycles. The sensitivity of SHC to different inorganic salt solutions was investigated, which showed its water absorbency higher than 90 g/g at the maximum salinity level permitted for plant growth. The addition of SHC in silt loam soil showed an increase in water availability of 56%, 81%, and 125%, with the SHC concentrations of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.4%, respectively.

Conclusion

The addition of SHC had reduced the irrigation water requirement by 29% as compared to bare soil at an optimum application rate of 0.2%. The study promotes the use of synthesized SHC for the conservation of irrigation water, as well as soil ecosystem, with an additional advantage of contributing to the mass utilization of waste materials.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thankfully acknowledge the Central Instrument Facility (CIF) and Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati for providing the necessary support required for this research work.

Funding

The authors received no specific funding for carrying out this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, India

    Abhisekh Saha, Chandra Bhanu Gupt & Sreedeep Sekharan

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  1. Abhisekh Saha
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  2. Chandra Bhanu Gupt
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  3. Sreedeep Sekharan
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Contributions

Conceptualization: AS, SS; Material preparation: AS; Formal analysis and investigation: AS, CBG; Writing—original draft preparation: AS; Writing—review and editing: SS; Supervision: SS.

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Correspondence to Abhisekh Saha.

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Saha, A., Gupt, C.B. & Sekharan, S. Recycling Natural Fibre to Superabsorbent Hydrogel Composite for Conservation of Irrigation Water in Semi-arid Regions. Waste Biomass Valor 12, 6433–6448 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-021-01489-9

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