Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Cassava Starch-Based Phosphorus Releasing Super-Absorbent Polymer, and Optimization of the Performance of Water Absorption and Phosphorus Release

To prepare a novel cassava starch-based phosphorus releasing super-absorbent polymer (CST-PRP-SAP), the single factor and orthogonal experiment were applied to analyze the effects of different reaction conditions on the absorption and phosphorus release capacities of CST-PRP-SAP samples. The structural and morphological characteristics of the cassava starch (CST), powdered rock phosphate (PRP), cassava starch-based super-absorbent polymer (CST-SAP) and CST-PRP-SAP samples were all compared with various technologies, such as the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction pattern, etc. The results showed that the CST-PRP-SAP samples had good performances of water retention and phosphorus release which were synthesized, such as the reaction temperature, starch content, P(2)O(5) content, crosslinking agent, initiator, neutralization degree, and acrylamide content, which were 60 °C, 20% w/w, 10% w/w, 0.02% w/w, 0.6% w/w, 70% w/w, and 15% w/w, respectively. The water absorbency of CST-PRP-SAP was almost larger than that of the CST-SAP sample with a P(2)O(5) content of 5.0% and 7.5%, and they all gradually decreased after three consecutive water absorption cycles. The CST-PRP-SAP sample could maintain about 50% of the initial water content after 24 h, even at the temperature of 40 °C. The swelling process of CST-PRP-SAP conformed to the non-Fickian diffusion, which was determined by the diffusion of water molecules and the relaxation process of polymer chain segments. The cumulative phosphorus release amount and release rate of the CST-PRP-SAP samples were increased with the increasing PRP content and the decreasing neutralization degree. After a 216 h immersion, the cumulative phosphorus release amount and release rate of the CST-PRP-SAP samples with different PRP contents were increased by 17.4 and 3.7 times, respectively. The rough surface of the CST-PRP-SAP sample after swelling was beneficial to the performance of water absorption and phosphorus release. The crystallization degree of PRP in the CST-PRP-SAP system was decreased and most of the PRP existed in the form of physical filling, and the available phosphorus content was increased to a certain extent. It was concluded that the CST-PRP-SAP synthesized in this study has excellent properties of continuous water absorption and retention with functions of promotion and the slow-release phosphorus.