A novel wheat straw cellulose-based semi-IPNs superabsorbent with integration of water-retaining and controlled-release fertilizers

A novel semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs) superabsorbent resin with slow-release nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer (WSC-g-PAA/PVA/NP), based on wheat straw cellulose-g-poly poly (acrylic acid) (WSC-g-PAA) network and linear polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was prepared by solution polymerization. Urea and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate were introduced to supply nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients, respectively. The novel semi-IPNs SAR was characterized by methods of FTIR, SEM and TGA. The water absorbency under different conditions and the slow-release behavior of WSC-g-PAA/PVA/NP were studied. The semi-IPNs SAR synthesized under optimized condition not only showed excellent water absorbency of 198.5 g/g in distilled water and 26.3 g/g in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution, but also could significantly lessen the leaching losses of fertilizers and enhance the water-retention capacity of soil. It could be concluded that the product with water holding and slow-release property, being economical and friendly to environment, had great potential to be used in agriculture and horticultural. (C) 2015 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.