Water Retention Characteristics of Superabsorbent Polymers (SAPs) Used as Soil Amendments

Abstract

Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are used as a soil amendment for retaining water, but suitable methods for the application of SAPs have not yet been developed. Here, we characterized a variety of soil–SAP mixtures prepared using four different types of SAP in terms of their water absorption and release characteristics. The teabag method was applied to characterize the soil–SAP mixtures, except for measurements of the matric potential. The results showed that the variations in water absorbency among the four SAPs in isolation became insignificant when they were mixed with sandy soils. The rates of water released from the soil–SAP mixtures under heated conditions were mitigated with decreasing water content, which prolonged the time until desiccation of the mixtures. The water absorbency of the SAPs significantly decreased in salt solutions (KCl and CaCl2), but their absorbency mostly recovered following immersion in tap water. The soil–dry SAP mixtures retained a larger amount of water than the soil–gel SAP mixtures. Swollen SAPs predominantly retained water in the range of −0.98 to −3.92 kPa, suggesting that SAP induces a transition from gravitational water to readily plant-available water by swelling itself. SAPs barely increased the amount of plant-available water in a potential range of −3.92 to −98.1 kPa, but significantly increased the soil water at <−98.1 kPa. The soil water content increased with an increasing SAP application rate, whereas the proportion of plant-available water declined. Our findings indicated that the performance of SAPs depends on the pore space and a saline environment in the soil and that low SAP application rates are suitable for maximizing the water available to plants in sandy soils.