Environmentally friendly superabsorbent bio-hydrogel for agricultural soil conditioning and plant micronutrient release

Environmentally friendly superabsorbent bio-hydrogel for agricultural soil conditioning and plant micronutrient release | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Environmentally friendly superabsorbent bio-hydrogel for agricultural soil conditioning and plant micronutrient release Tarun Kumar Gayen, Mohammad Amdad Ali, Sudhir G. Warkar This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6863010/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in Polymer Bulletin → Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A one-step superabsorbent, eco-friendly bio-hydrogel was synthesized from the bio-polymer, carboxymethyl tamarind kernel gum (CMTKG), by using the crosslinking agent epichlorohydrin. The optimized bio-hydrogel showed a swelling of ~23845% with a good reswelling of ~6217% after 5 th cycles at room temperature (~25 o C). Bio-hydrogel exhibited water retention in air for approximately 16 days. When incorporated into soil, this retention period was extended by about 48 days compared to soil without the hydrogel. The Maximum water-holding capacity of the soil was increased by ~90% compared to the control soil sample. The biodegradation study illustrated a weight loss of ~98% by 60 days. The blackberry plantation study revealed the germination rate and survival rate of 25% and 85%, respectively, more than the control soil. Molybdenum (Mo) was loaded in CMTKG-based bio-hydrogel, as a micronutrient carrier vehicle for micronutrient release as a proof-of-concept measurement. The Mo release from the bio-hydrogel showed ~86% in water after 19 days. Kinetic models study showed that the first-order model and the Peppas-Sahlin model were the best fit models, indicating that the Mo release rate is proportional to concentration with Fickian diffusion and polymer chain relaxation. Bio-hydrogel Micronutrient Molybdenum Slow release Soil conditioning Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in Polymer Bulletin → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 06 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 05 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 01 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 12 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Jun, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 11 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 11 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 11 Jun, 2025 First submitted to journal 10 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6863010","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":470159754,"identity":"528e6818-0ee9-45e7-8298-9ee0ced7caa0","order_by":0,"name":"Tarun Kumar Gayen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Delhi Technological University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tarun","middleName":"Kumar","lastName":"Gayen","suffix":""},{"id":470159755,"identity":"10ce78bd-6823-43ce-846e-76ffb40cab7a","order_by":1,"name":"Mohammad Amdad Ali","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohammad","middleName":"Amdad","lastName":"Ali","suffix":""},{"id":470159756,"identity":"0505ec5f-da8b-44df-9358-72facb9878c8","order_by":2,"name":"Sudhir G. 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