Synthesis of paddy straw biopolymers based hydrogels and their use as media for plant growth
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Date
2022
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Punjab Agricultural University
Abstract
Paddy straw consists of three important biopolymers i.e. cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin which can be used for the production of various highly demanded sustainable organic products. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and lignin were extracted from paddy straw by using the dilute acid pre-treatment method followed by alkaline hydrolysis. Characterization of MCC was done by FT-IR, SEM images and lignin was characterized by FT-IR spectrum. Hydrogels were synthesized using MCC and lignin as the raw material, PVA as the matrix template, glutaraldehyde and Epichlorohydrin (ECH) as cross-linkers and characterized by FT-IR and SEM analysis. Hydrogels synthesized using glutaraldehyde crosslinker were observed to have less porosity and tight bonding network whereas ECH caused loose bonding between polymers and resulted in formation of large pores in hydrogels. Swelling ratio and reswelling capacity of hydrogels showed that lignin hydrogels performed best than all other hydrogels. Monocot (wheat) and dicot (moong bean) seeds were found to germinate on hydrogels which confirmed the tendency of hydrogels to modify the water retention properties of growing media. The physiological parameters i.e. total fresh and dry biomass, leaf area, seedling length of hydrogels on growth of germinated seedlings were observed under control and water stress conditions. All hydrogels performed well under stress conditions as compared to control. However, both lignin hydrogels performed best and gave highest growth under stress conditions. It was concluded that these biopolymer based hydrogels can be recommended for use as growth media ingredient in water deficient conditions.
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Jaswinder Kaur (2022). Synthesis of paddy straw biopolymers based hydrogels and their use as media for plant growth (Unpublished M.Sc. thesis). Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.