Use of Cellulose from Waste Paper to Improve the Water Capacity of Soils Within the Circular Economy

The article focuses on verifying the potential of using cellulose obtained from waste cardboard to improve the soil’s water retention capacity, depending on its texture and type, in accordance with the principles of the circular economy. The study compares reference cellulose (RFC) and waste carton-extracted cellulose (WCC) in terms of their structure and water-holding capacity (WHC), using FTIR spectroscopy and experiments across various soil types. Results showed that WCC has a significantly higher WHC (12.6 g/g) than RFC (0.75 g/g) due to its greater proportion of amorphous sections and the presence of lignin and hemicellulose. In contrast, the high crystalline content of RFC limits its water sorption capabilities. Soil texture and soil organic matter (SOM) play a crucial role in water retention. The highest WHC values were observed in fine-grained soils classified as silt loam. The study confirms that SOM has a stronger influence on WHC than texture alone. Applying WCC led to a linear increase in WHC across different soil types. Even soils with initially low WHC showed notable improvement with low doses of WCC (1%). The findings highlight the potential of waste carton-extracted cellulose as a soil amendment to enhance water retention in agricultural soils, especially in adapting to climate variability and drought conditions.