Synthesis of biodegradable superabsorbent hydrogels with using agricultural and horticultural

In this research we synthesized graft copolymerization of acrylic acid with pectin by using potassium persulfate (KPS) as a free radical initiator and agent methylen bisacrylamid (MBA) as a cross linker.The polymer structures were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also we suggested a mechanism for copolymerization of acrylic acid with pectin. The effecting onto copolymerization parameters were systematically optimized to achieve a hydrogel with swelling capacity as high as possible. Maximum water absorbency of the optimized final product was found to be 590 gr/gr. the swelling capacity of the synthesized hydrogels was also measured in various salt solutions. Farthermore, the swelling of superabsorbant hydrogel was measured in various Solutions with PH values ranging from 1 to 12. the hydrogels exhibited the highest swelling at PH 6 and 9. also the swelling kinetics in distilled water investigated.