Sustainable, biodegradable superabsorbent materials

June 24, 2024

Hemp research has been historically under-funded and difficult to conduct. Researchers like Dr. Simsek are making important advances with hemp; she’s developed a superabsorbent material that can replace others that have multiple sustainability concerns.

Jacob Brejcha

Licensing Associate

Senay Simsek, head of the Department of Food Science and the Dean’s Chair in Food Science in Purdue University’s College of Agriculture, leads a team developing patent-pending, superabsorbent materials from cellulose extracted from hemp and refined through a sequence of treatments. (Purdue Agricultural Communications photo/Tom Campbell)

LAY LANGUAGE

Manufacturing and disposing of traditional superabsorbent materials made from nonrenewable resources like petroleum affects the environment. Disposable diapers alone impact the planet’s health. The World Economic Forum reported in August 2023 that over 300,000 disposable diapers are incinerated or taken to landfills each minute.

PROBLEM

Production of traditional superabsorbent polymers often requires significant energy inputs, which contributes to their overall environmental footprint. Also, they are made from raw materials derived from nonrenewable resources, like petroleum-based products, which also are used to make plastics and various chemicals.

SOLUTION

Purdue researchers are using cellulose extracted from hemp and refined through treatments to create the patent-pending, superabsorbent materials. Hemp hurds, found in the inner woody core of the hemp stalk, are highly absorbent. Hemp bast, the fibrous outer layer, while less absorbent, provides strength and durability.

The researchers tested the Purdue superabsorbent materials made using standardized absorbency tests, which compared them against traditional materials. The hemp hurd showed significantly higher absorption capacity than both hemp bast and many traditional materials.