Converting cane bagasse biomass to absorbing hydrogel

Hybrid hydrogels based on natural polymers, especially polysaccharides, has received special attention of many scientists and researchers in recent years. In the present study, the biomass of cane bagasse as a source of polysaccharides is immersed by polymer latex based on Acrylic Acid (AA) , sodium acrylate (SA) and Acrylamide (AM) monomers (produced by inverse emulsion polymerization). Then, by using heat between synthetic and natural parts, a chemical reaction took place and bagasse converted into a hydrogel. . The effect of latex type on modification of cane bagasse to absorbing polymer was investigated. The best modification of cane bagasse to absorbing hydrogel was obtained with poly(AA-SA-AM) (mol ratio 54:6:40).The modified cane bagasse with this latex have water absorbency up to 81.7 g/g while water absorbency of unmodified cane bagasse is only 0.27 g/g. Cane bagasse hydrogels were characterized through swelling measurement. The production of these hydrogels is considered to be as an introductory step in the easier and more cost effective production of hybrid absorbing hydrogels based on direct use of biomass especially for use in agricultural applications.

Keywords:

hydrogel , Inverse Emulsion Polymerization , Biomass , cane bagasse