Characterizing a Cost-Effective Hydrogel-Based Transparent Soil
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Results and Discussion
2.1. Transparency
2.2. Mechanical Properties
2.3. Allowed Width and Height of Transparent Soil
2.4. Optimized Conditions for Making Transparent Soil
2.5. Bead Size and Porosity
2.6. Stability of Bead Size
3. Conclusions
4. Materials and Methods
4.1. Experiment Design
4.2. The Process of Making Transparent Soil
- Disinfect all equipment, including the laboratory bench, mesh metal sieve, glass bottles, syringe barrels, support stand, stirring hotplate, stirring bar, syringe, and needles, with 75% ethanol for 5 min, followed by four rinses with reverse osmosis water.
- Prepare the polymer solution with the required concentration (mixing Phytagel and sodium alginate powder in a 4:1 wt. ratio).
- Prepare the MgCl2 solution with the necessary concentration as the crosslinker solution.
- Prepare the Murashige & Skoog (MS) solution at twice the regular concentration.
- Heat the polymer solution (400 mL) in a universal oven to ensure complete dissolution at a temperature of 121 °C for 60 min. Before heating, ensure that the bottle cap is loose. After heating, tighten the bottle cap and allow the solution to cool to room temperature.
- Assemble the automatic dropping system for TS beads with a syringe barrel fixed on an iron support stand. Connect a stopcock to the syringe barrel with the required capacity and a metal flathead needle with the appropriate inner diameter (total length: 25 mm, exposed length: 13 mm). Ensure the stopcock is turned off.
- Transfer the polymer solution into the syringe barrel of the dropping system, passing it through a fine mesh metal sieve. If smaller beads are desired through the needles, cap the bottle and connect it to an air pump.
- Position a magnetic stirrer beneath the dispensing system. Pour 2.0 L of MgCl2 solution into a plastic container fitted with a stirring bar and place the container on the magnetic stirrer. Stir the solution at a rate of 200 rpm.
- Open the stopcock and initiate the dropping process, adjusting the stopcock to determine an appropriate dropping speed.
- Once the dropping process is complete, allow the beads to remain in the MgCl2 solution for 15 min, then collect the TS beads from the MgCl2 solution using a metal sieve.
- Soak the beads in the 2-fold concentrated MS solution for 12 h (overnight is preferable) at a beads-to-nutrient solution ratio of 1:1 (v:v).
- Filter the beads from the solution using a metal sieve and dry them with paper towels.
- The TS beads are now ready for use.
4.3. Measurements and Methods
4.3.1. Transparency Analysis
4.3.2. Mechanical Properties Analysis
4.3.3. Particle Size Analysis
4.3.4. Porosity Analysis
4.3.5. Stability Analysis of Transparent Soil Beads
4.4. Statistical Analysis
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Source | DF | Transparency | Collapse Stress |
---|---|---|---|
PB | 2 | 17,199.6 *** | 818.0 *** |
PC | 11 | 3987.9 *** | 8014.1 *** |
CC | 6 | 2273.3 *** | 931.5 *** |
PB * PC | 22 | 622.0 *** | 31.5 *** |
PB * CC | 12 | 37.3 *** | 8.2 *** |
PC * CC | 66 | 36.9 *** | 27.9 *** |
PB * PC * CC | 132 | 15.7 *** | 6.2 *** |
Phytagel Brands | Transparency (%) | Stress (Kpa) | Width (cm) | Height (cm) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sigma | 0.934 ± 0.0013 a | 1.790 ± 0.057 ab | 36.80 ± 0.69 a | 18.10 ± 0.58 ab |
Biodee | 0.890 ± 0.0033 b | 1.912 ± 0.053 a | 27.28 ± 1.33 b | 19.33 ± 0.53 a |
Coolaber | 0.874 ± 0.0018 c | 1.634 ± 0.059 b | 17.91 ± 0.26 c | 16.54 ± 0.60 b |
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Li, K.; Ma, L.; Gao, Y.; Zhang, J.; Li, S. Characterizing a Cost-Effective Hydrogel-Based Transparent Soil. Gels 2023, 9, 835. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9100835
Li K, Ma L, Gao Y, Zhang J, Li S. Characterizing a Cost-Effective Hydrogel-Based Transparent Soil. Gels. 2023; 9(10):835. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9100835
Chicago/Turabian StyleLi, Kanghu, Lin Ma, Yang Gao, Jiyang Zhang, and Sen Li. 2023. "Characterizing a Cost-Effective Hydrogel-Based Transparent Soil" Gels 9, no. 10: 835. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9100835