A New Approach for Agricultural Water Management Using Pillows Made from COVID-19 Waste Face Masks and Filled with a Hydrogel Polymer: Preliminary Studies
Face masks have become an essential commodity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their use rises daily. Excessive face mask use will likely continue to combat the virus and bacterial impacts in the long term. Afterward, used face masks are hazardous to the environment since most are made of nonbiodeg...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/1/152 |
| _version_ | 1797447305551413248 |
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| author | Haradhan Kolya Chun-Won Kang |
| author_facet | Haradhan Kolya Chun-Won Kang |
| author_sort | Haradhan Kolya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Face masks have become an essential commodity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their use rises daily. Excessive face mask use will likely continue to combat the virus and bacterial impacts in the long term. Afterward, used face masks are hazardous to the environment since most are made of nonbiodegradable porous polymeric fibrous materials. Thus, finding new ways to recycle waste face masks is urgently needed. Similarly, managing agricultural water for irrigation is a crucial challenge in saving water. This study demonstrates an approach for recycling face masks as bag- or small-sized pillows filled with superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) for the slow release of water near plant roots. Previous studies have reported that SAPs or hydrogel could boost soil’s water retention capacity, mixed with hydrogel/SAP. However, mixing SAPs into soil is improper because biodegradation generates low toxic organic molecules and contaminates soil and surface water. The objective of this research was to develop a face mask reuse approach, reduce irrigation water using polymers, and reduce toxic contamination in the soil. Here, swollen SAPs were taken inside the pillow and buried near plants, and the growth of the plants was studied. The moisture of the inner soil was constant for a long time, boosting plant growth. Afterward, the face mask pillows could be removed from the soil and maintained for further use. This new approach could be helpful in pot farming. This approach could contribute to the circular economy and the development of environmental sustainability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:52:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5afd8941eb7846649b3eafcb0bc2a456 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:52:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-5afd8941eb7846649b3eafcb0bc2a4562023-11-30T20:46:30ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722023-01-0113115210.3390/agriculture13010152A New Approach for Agricultural Water Management Using Pillows Made from COVID-19 Waste Face Masks and Filled with a Hydrogel Polymer: Preliminary StudiesHaradhan Kolya0Chun-Won Kang1Department of Housing Environmental Design, Research Institute of Human Ecology, College of Human Ecology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Housing Environmental Design, Research Institute of Human Ecology, College of Human Ecology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of KoreaFace masks have become an essential commodity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their use rises daily. Excessive face mask use will likely continue to combat the virus and bacterial impacts in the long term. Afterward, used face masks are hazardous to the environment since most are made of nonbiodegradable porous polymeric fibrous materials. Thus, finding new ways to recycle waste face masks is urgently needed. Similarly, managing agricultural water for irrigation is a crucial challenge in saving water. This study demonstrates an approach for recycling face masks as bag- or small-sized pillows filled with superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) for the slow release of water near plant roots. Previous studies have reported that SAPs or hydrogel could boost soil’s water retention capacity, mixed with hydrogel/SAP. However, mixing SAPs into soil is improper because biodegradation generates low toxic organic molecules and contaminates soil and surface water. The objective of this research was to develop a face mask reuse approach, reduce irrigation water using polymers, and reduce toxic contamination in the soil. Here, swollen SAPs were taken inside the pillow and buried near plants, and the growth of the plants was studied. The moisture of the inner soil was constant for a long time, boosting plant growth. Afterward, the face mask pillows could be removed from the soil and maintained for further use. This new approach could be helpful in pot farming. This approach could contribute to the circular economy and the development of environmental sustainability.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/1/152irrigationCOVID-19 wastehydrogel/SAPagricultural applicationsface mask |
| spellingShingle | Haradhan Kolya Chun-Won Kang A New Approach for Agricultural Water Management Using Pillows Made from COVID-19 Waste Face Masks and Filled with a Hydrogel Polymer: Preliminary Studies Agriculture irrigation COVID-19 waste hydrogel/SAP agricultural applications face mask |
| title | A New Approach for Agricultural Water Management Using Pillows Made from COVID-19 Waste Face Masks and Filled with a Hydrogel Polymer: Preliminary Studies |
| title_full | A New Approach for Agricultural Water Management Using Pillows Made from COVID-19 Waste Face Masks and Filled with a Hydrogel Polymer: Preliminary Studies |
| title_fullStr | A New Approach for Agricultural Water Management Using Pillows Made from COVID-19 Waste Face Masks and Filled with a Hydrogel Polymer: Preliminary Studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | A New Approach for Agricultural Water Management Using Pillows Made from COVID-19 Waste Face Masks and Filled with a Hydrogel Polymer: Preliminary Studies |
| title_short | A New Approach for Agricultural Water Management Using Pillows Made from COVID-19 Waste Face Masks and Filled with a Hydrogel Polymer: Preliminary Studies |
| title_sort | new approach for agricultural water management using pillows made from covid 19 waste face masks and filled with a hydrogel polymer preliminary studies |
| topic | irrigation COVID-19 waste hydrogel/SAP agricultural applications face mask |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/1/152 |
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