DOE-based synthesis of gellan gum-acrylic acid-based biodegradable hydrogels: screening of significant process variables and <i>in situ</i> field studies
Sonal Choudhary, Kashma Sharma, Manpreet S. Bhatti, Vishal Sharma, Vijay Kumar
Abstract
H-nuclear magnetic resonance. The swelling behavior of GG-cl-poly(AA) in water and saline solutions, as well as its water retention capability, was investigated. In comparison to distilled water, the swelling potential of optimized hydrogel was shown to be significantly reduced in saline solutions. The addition of GG-cl-poly(AA) significantly improved the moisture properties of plant growth media (clay, sandy, and clay-soil combination), implying that it has great potential in moisture stress agriculture. GG-cl-poly(AA) biodegradation was studied by soil burial and vermicomposting methods. The composting approach showed 89.95% deterioration after 22 days, while the soil burial method showed 86.71% degradation after 22 days. The synthesized hydrogel may be beneficial for agricultural applications because of its considerable degradation behaviour, strong water retention capacity, low cost, and environmental friendliness.