Water retention properties of a sandy soil with superabsorbent polymers as affected by aging and water quality

2015 ◽  
Vol 178 (5) ◽  
pp. 798-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Schahram Banedjschafie ◽  
Wolfgang Durner
Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1335
Author(s):  
Łukasz Gluba ◽  
Anna Rafalska-Przysucha ◽  
Kamil Szewczak ◽  
Mateusz Łukowski ◽  
Radosław Szlązak ◽  
...  

Biochar application has been reported to improve the physical, chemical, and hydrological properties of soil. However, the information about the size fraction composition of the applied biochar as a factor that may have an impact on the properties of soil-biochar mixtures is often underappreciated. Our research shows how sunflower husk biochar (pyrolyzed at 650 °C) can modify the water retention characteristics of arable sandy soil depending on the biochar dose (up to 9.52 wt.%) and particle size (<50 µm, 50–100 µm, 100–250 µm). For comparison, we used soil samples mixed with biochar passed through 2 mm sieve and an unamended reference. The addition of sieved biochar to the soil caused a 30% increase in the available water content (AWC) in comparing to the soil without biochar. However, the most notable improvement (doubling the reference AWC value from 0.078 m3 m−3 to 0.157 m3 m−3) was observed at the lowest doses of biochar (0.95 and 2.24 wt.%) and for the finest size fractions (below 100 µm). The water retention effects on sandy soil are explained as the interplay between the dose, the size of biochar particles, and the porous properties of biochar fractions.


2009 ◽  
Vol 373 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 177-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Andry ◽  
T. Yamamoto ◽  
T. Irie ◽  
S. Moritani ◽  
M. Inoue ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renkuan Liao ◽  
Wenyong Wu ◽  
Shumei Ren ◽  
Peiling Yang

Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are widely applied in dryland agriculture. However, their functional property of repeated absorption and release of soil water exerts periodic effects on the hydraulic parameters and water-retention properties of soil, and as this property gradually diminishes with time, its effects tend to be unstable. During the 120-day continuous soil cultivation experiment described in this paper, horizontal soil column infiltration and high-speed centrifugation tests were conducted on SAP-treated soil to measure unsaturated diffusivityDand soil water characteristic curves. The experimental results suggest that the SAP increased the water retaining capacity of soil sections where the suction pressure was between 0 and 3,000 cm. The SAP significantly obstructed water diffusion in the soil in the early days of the experiment, but the effect gradually decreased in the later period. The average decrease in water diffusivity in the treatment groups fell from 76.6% at 0 days to 1.2% at 120 days. This research also provided parameters of time-varying functions that describe the unsaturated diffusivityDand unsaturated hydraulic conductivityKof soils under the effects of SAPs; in future research, these functions can be used to construct water movement models applicable to SAP-treated soil.


2021 ◽  
pp. 51495
Author(s):  
Ruth M. Barajas‐Ledesma ◽  
Vanessa N. L. Wong ◽  
Karen Little ◽  
Antonio F. Patti ◽  
Gil Garnier

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2485
Author(s):  
Wan-Hsin Chang ◽  
Pei-Yi Liu ◽  
Min-Hsuan Lin ◽  
Chien-Ju Lu ◽  
Hsuan-Yi Chou ◽  
...  

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan that was first isolated and identified from the vitreous body of a bull’s eye. HA is ubiquitous in the soft connective tissues of animals and therefore has high tissue compatibility for use in medication. Because of HA’s biological safety and water retention properties, it has many ophthalmology-related applications, such as in intravitreal injection, dry eye treatment, and contact lenses. Due to its broad range of applications, the identification and quantification of HA is a critical topic. This review article discusses current methods for analyzing HA. Contact lenses have become a widely used medical device, with HA commonly used as an additive to their production material, surface coating, and multipurpose solution. HA molecules on contact lenses retain moisture and increase the wearer’s comfort. HA absorbed by contact lenses can also gradually release to the anterior segment of the eyes to treat dry eye. This review discusses applications of HA in ophthalmology.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 407
Author(s):  
Ling Li ◽  
Yong-Jiang Zhang ◽  
Abigayl Novak ◽  
Yingchao Yang ◽  
Jinwu Wang

In recent years, plants in sandy soils have been impacted by increased climate variability due to weak water holding and temperature buffering capacities of the parent material. The projected impact spreads all over the world, including New England, USA. Many regions of the world may experience an increase in frequency and severity of drought, which can be attributed to an increased variability in precipitation and enhanced water loss due to warming. The overall benefits of biochar in environmental management have been extensively investigated. This review aims to discuss the water holding capacity of biochar from the points of view of fluid mechanics and propose several prioritized future research topics. To understand the impacts of biochar on sandy soils in-depth, sandy soil properties (surface area, pore size, water properties, and characteristics) and how biochar could improve the soil quality as well as plant growth, development, and yield are reviewed. Incorporating biochar into sandy soils could result in a net increase in the surface area, a stronger hydrophobicity at a lower temperature, and an increase in the micropores to maximize gap spaces. The capability of biochar in reducing fertilizer drainage through increasing water retention can improve crop productivity and reduce the nutrient leaching rate in agricultural practices. To advance research in biochar products and address the impacts of increasing climate variability, future research may focus on the role of biochar in enhancing soil water retention, plant water use efficiency, crop resistance to drought, and crop productivity.


RSC Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (16) ◽  
pp. 13377-13383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng Yin ◽  
Jingjing Cao ◽  
Zhen Li ◽  
Dong Qiu

PVA 1795 and 1797 was effective in improving the growth of plants in sandy soil, may be a good alterative of PAM.


2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 696-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Ojeda ◽  
S. Mattana ◽  
M. Bonmatí ◽  
S. K. Woche ◽  
J. Bachmann

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 189-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beibei Zhou ◽  
Xiaopeng Chen

The poor water retention capacity of sandy soils commonly aggregate soil erosion and ecological environment on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Due to its strong capacity for absorption and large specific surface area, the use of nanocarbon made of coconut shell as a soil amendment that could improve water retention was investigated. Soil column experiments were conducted in which a layer of nanocarbon mixed well with the soil was formed at a depth of 20 cm below the soil surface. Four different nanocarbon contents by weight (0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1%) and five thicknesses of the nanocarbon- soil mixture layer ranging from 1 to 5 cm were considered. Cumulative infiltration and soil water content distributions were determined when water was added to soil columns. Soil Water Characteristic Curves (SWCC) were obtained using the centrifuge method. The principal results showed that the infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration increased with the increases of nanocarbon contents, to the thicknesses of the nano carbon-soil mixture layer. Soil water contents that below the soil-nano carbon layer decreased sharply. Both the Brooks-Corey and van Genuchten models could describe well the SWCC of the disturbed sandy soil with various nano carbon contents. Both the saturated water content (θs), residual water content (θr) and empirical parameter (α) increased with increasing nano carbon content, while the pore-size distribution parameter (n) decreased. The available soil water contents were efficiently increased with the increase in nanocarbon contents.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document