Abstract
Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are type of hydrogels capable to swell and absorb a large amount of water, but easily decomposed and oxidized by the air. We used electron-microscopic imaging in an indoor simulation with sand mulching to test the effects of various SAP concentrations on controlling evaporation and salt formation. The treatments were sand-mulched columns containing 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0% SAP. The soil particle pores were from dense to sparse and the corresponding fractal dimension decreased as SAP concentration increased. SAP concentration was correlated negatively with fractal dimension, clay-particle fraction and silt-volume fraction. And it showed a positive correlation with sand volume fraction. SAP concentration significantly affected the particle-size distribution. Water-storage capacity increased in each column layer (five 8-cm layers) at the same infiltration depth. Evaporation decreased the water content of each layer. Sand mulching combined with the SAP decreased evaporation in each layer relative to the control, which retained more water and decreased the accumulation of surface salt in the order 1.0% > 0.5% > 0.2% > 0.1% > 0. Salt migrated at 0–30 cm with sand mulching but 0–25 cm with sand mulching and SAP amendment. The decrease in salt accumulation was most effective at a SAP concentration of 0.2%.
Highlights
Sand mulching can insulate soil from high illumination and hinder SAP oxidation to some extent, which have allowed the application of SAPs in northwestern China
Zhao et al.[16] studied the effect of various concentrations of SAPs on the infiltration of soil water with sand mulching, and found that the infiltration rate of soil water was optimal at a SAP concentration of 0.2%, which effectively increased the amount of water in the soil
Because of the strong water absorption properties of SAP, sandy soil treated with SAP the soil particle size distribution has changed and the soil structure has changed[20]
Summary
Sand mulching can insulate soil from high illumination and hinder SAP oxidation to some extent, which have allowed the application of SAPs in northwestern China. We are trying to study the effect of SAPs on particle-size distribution and soil-water evaporation using indoor simulations and electron-microscopic imaging. Results and Discussion Effects of various SAP concentrations with sand mulching on soil particle-size distribution. SAP concentration was positively correlated with soil-water content, consistent with the water-storage characteristics of SAPs. The fractal dimension of particle size and the concentration of SAP were fitted with a quadratic function (Fig. 3).
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