Influence of Hydrogels Prepared Using Carboxymethyl Cellulose on Water Retention in Soil

Abstract

Carboxymethyl cellulose is a hydrophilic material which is typically used in the various industrial fields such as paper, cosmetic, food, agriculture, and so on. It has potential for applying to the agricultural fields as an additive in order to improve water retention in soil. Accordingly hydrogels for application to soil were prepared using carboxymethyl cellulose made of wood and cotton cellulose pulp by a simple cross-linking method to give structure stability. Based on FT-IR analysis, all of the carboxymethyl cellulose-based hydrogels had ester bonds through the cross-linking reaction. In addition, absorption capacity of the hydrogels were evaluated with or without inorganic elements such as K, P, and Na. The absorption capacity with organic elements was lower than that without the organic elements. However, their structure was maintained by 20 days in soil because it has a cross-linked porous structure. Therefore the hydrogels made of carboxymethyl cellulose could be a biodegradable water reservoir enough to supply nutrients and moisture to plants in soil.