High Water Absorbents from Lignocelluloses. Part III: Upgrading the Utilization of Old Newspaper [ONP] in Agronomic Application

A study of converting ONP into hydrogel was undertaken to develop a new approach in effective utilization of waste paper. This hydrogel was prepared using environmental friendly process based on graft polymerization reaction with acrylonitrile in presence of redox system initiator. The prepared hydrogel was evaluated as soil conditioner from the properties of the treated sandy soil, e.g., bulk density and porosity, volume distribution of pores, water holding pores and fine capillary pores, available moisture, air field porosity and water stable structural units, in comparison to those hydrogels previously prepared from sugar-cane bagasse and with conventional soil conditioners (organic fertilizer and bentonite). Enhancing the behavior of the prepared ONP hydrogel as soil conditioner in the agronomic application, through plant transplanting in sandy soil was also investigated. The evaluation was performed by measuring seed germination and plant moisture stress of Squash (Cucurbita pepo) plant.