Superabsorbent bio-microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate
Soil structure determines the ability of soil to retain water and nutrients, which are vital for sustaining plant growth and maintaining soil fertility. Soil structure refers to the arrangement of soil particles into aggregates. Ideally, “well-structured” soil is a balanced mix of sand, silt, clay,...
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| Format: | Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy |
| Language: | English |
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Nanyang Technological University
2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180268 |
| _version_ | 1826114945752760320 |
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| author | Escayo, Sherwin Lumogdang |
| author2 | Lam Yeng Ming |
| author_facet | Lam Yeng Ming Escayo, Sherwin Lumogdang |
| author_sort | Escayo, Sherwin Lumogdang |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Soil structure determines the ability of soil to retain water and nutrients, which are vital for sustaining plant growth and maintaining soil fertility. Soil structure refers to the arrangement of soil particles into aggregates. Ideally, “well-structured” soil is a balanced mix of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter which gives rise to adequate water infiltration and retention properties of the soil. However, factors such as soil degradation, erosion, and urbanization can disrupt the soil structure, leading to decreased water retention capacity. This not only reduces the availability of water for plants but also exacerbates soil erosion and nutrient leaching, further compromising soil fertility and ecosystem resilience. The use of microgels could recover and enhance the water retention capacity of soil. Microgels are micron-sized crosslinked polymers that are small enough to fit in between soil particles. These microgels can store large amounts of water and gradually release it to the plant, helping it thrive, especially during dry spells when water is scarce. Currently, the methods available to prepare microgels are low-yielding and use harmful chemicals. This PhD work aims to design a simple, scalable, and safe method for producing environmentally friendly microgels using spray drying. Spray drying is a method commonly used to manufacture milk and juice powders. This work used spray drying together with different crosslinking reactions to convert cellulose, a plant-based polymer, into a bio-based microgel soil conditioner. By tuning the crosslinking chemistry and the spraying condition, mechanically stable and superabsorbent microgels were produced in this PhD work. The microgels were found to improve the water retention capacity of coarse sand and support the growth and survival of Amaranth plants, even in drought conditions. In brief, this PhD work demonstrates the potential of the bio-based microgels produced using spray drying to enhance the fertility of non-arable land. |
| first_indexed | 2025-03-09T11:15:22Z |
| format | Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy |
| id | ntu-10356/180268 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-09T11:15:22Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Nanyang Technological University |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1802682024-10-07T01:58:13Z Superabsorbent bio-microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate Escayo, Sherwin Lumogdang Lam Yeng Ming School of Materials Science and Engineering YMLam@ntu.edu.sg Agricultural Sciences Chemistry Engineering Microgel Water retention Cellulose Soil conditioner Soil structure determines the ability of soil to retain water and nutrients, which are vital for sustaining plant growth and maintaining soil fertility. Soil structure refers to the arrangement of soil particles into aggregates. Ideally, “well-structured” soil is a balanced mix of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter which gives rise to adequate water infiltration and retention properties of the soil. However, factors such as soil degradation, erosion, and urbanization can disrupt the soil structure, leading to decreased water retention capacity. This not only reduces the availability of water for plants but also exacerbates soil erosion and nutrient leaching, further compromising soil fertility and ecosystem resilience. The use of microgels could recover and enhance the water retention capacity of soil. Microgels are micron-sized crosslinked polymers that are small enough to fit in between soil particles. These microgels can store large amounts of water and gradually release it to the plant, helping it thrive, especially during dry spells when water is scarce. Currently, the methods available to prepare microgels are low-yielding and use harmful chemicals. This PhD work aims to design a simple, scalable, and safe method for producing environmentally friendly microgels using spray drying. Spray drying is a method commonly used to manufacture milk and juice powders. This work used spray drying together with different crosslinking reactions to convert cellulose, a plant-based polymer, into a bio-based microgel soil conditioner. By tuning the crosslinking chemistry and the spraying condition, mechanically stable and superabsorbent microgels were produced in this PhD work. The microgels were found to improve the water retention capacity of coarse sand and support the growth and survival of Amaranth plants, even in drought conditions. In brief, this PhD work demonstrates the potential of the bio-based microgels produced using spray drying to enhance the fertility of non-arable land. Doctor of Philosophy 2024-09-30T12:44:33Z 2024-09-30T12:44:33Z 2024 Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy Escayo, S. L. (2024). Superabsorbent bio-microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate. Doctoral thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180268 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180268 10.32657/10356/180268 en This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). application/pdf Nanyang Technological University |
| spellingShingle | Agricultural Sciences Chemistry Engineering Microgel Water retention Cellulose Soil conditioner Escayo, Sherwin Lumogdang Superabsorbent bio-microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate |
| title | Superabsorbent bio-microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate |
| title_full | Superabsorbent bio-microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate |
| title_fullStr | Superabsorbent bio-microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Superabsorbent bio-microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate |
| title_short | Superabsorbent bio-microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate |
| title_sort | superabsorbent bio microgels for transforming sand into an arable substrate |
| topic | Agricultural Sciences Chemistry Engineering Microgel Water retention Cellulose Soil conditioner |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/180268 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT escayosherwinlumogdang superabsorbentbiomicrogelsfortransformingsandintoanarablesubstrate |