Abstract
Biodegradation is an important environmental factor controlling the effectiveness of aqueous superabsorbents for soil conditioning. The purpose of the study is to quantify this process using biological oxygen demand (BOD) analysis of composite superabsorbents with an acrylic polymer matrix, amphiphilic fillers (humates, peat) and silver ions as an inhibitor of biological activity. A simple kinetic model of BOD is proposed for standardization of the analysis and calculation of polymer half-life after their long-term (60–120 days) incubation in the VELP BOD analyzer (Italy) with automatic control. The half-life of pure hydrogels pre-swollen in distilled water (1:100) at 30 °C varied from 0.8 ± 0.2 to 2.4 ± 1.6 years. The addition of water extract from compost sharply enhances the biodegradation, lowering the half-life up to 40–60 days. Doses of 0.1–1% silver in a polymer matrix or 10–100 ppm in swollen hydrogels increase their half-life by 5–20 times. The discussion part questions the traditional division of aqua superabsorbents into “biodegradable” and “non-biodegradable”, and also analyzes the main advantages and disadvantages of the new methodology for their BOD analysis. The results may be of interest to a wide range of specialists from chemical technologists and biochemists to environmental engineers.
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