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Dynamic study on water diffusivity of soil with super-absorbent polymer application

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Abstract

Drought is a great concern in agricultural yield. Super-absorbent polymers (SAPs) can assist in easing water shortage. Therefore, it is significantly important to study the water absorbing and desorbing capacity of SAPs when applied into soil as well as their effective time. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different SAP types under the same moisture condition and the effect of the same SAP type under different moisture conditions on saturated soil water content, saturated soil hydraulic conductivity and soil water diffusivity. With SAP application, saturated soil water volumetric content increased significantly, up to 0.186 cm3 cm−3, while saturated hydraulic conductivity and diffusivity significantly decreased because the soil pores were blocked by SAP’s swelling volume during the repeated wetting and drying cycles. After SAPs were mixed in the soil, their capacity of absorbing and desorbing water showed a downward trend with time and outside water condition. Under a relatively stable water condition, such capacity reduced more slowly. As for the soil with SAP application, successful simulation for diffusivity D(θ, T) was also applicable to other parameters of the equation of water movement, which made it possible to study the water movement under the same condition.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this work was supported by the State Key Program of National Natural Science of China (Grant No. 51239009), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41171028), Beijing Forestry University Young Scientist Fund (No. BLX2011009), and CFERN & GENE Award Funds on Ecological Paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Yuguo Han & Xinxiao Yu

  2. 35 Qinghua Donglu, Handian District, P. O. Box 65, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Yuguo Han

  3. College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Peiling Yang

  4. Beijing Hydrologic Center, Beijing, 100089, People’s Republic of China

    Bo Li

  5. China Irrigation and Drainage Development Center, Beijing, 100054, People’s Republic of China

    Lei Xu

  6. ChaoYang Water Affairs Bureau, Beijing, 100026, People’s Republic of China

    Chengzhi Wang

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  1. Yuguo Han
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  4. Bo Li
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Correspondence to Yuguo Han.

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Han, Y., Yu, X., Yang, P. et al. Dynamic study on water diffusivity of soil with super-absorbent polymer application. Environ Earth Sci 69, 289–296 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1956-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-1956-9

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