Hydrogels for sustainable agriculture: testing water uptake and breakdown
GelTech Labs measures water uptake, swelling and mass loss of soil hydrogels and fertilizer coatings around the clock, in the water, salt and pH they'll meet in the field. Developers see which candidate polymers hold water in realistic conditions before they commit to a costly biodegradation program.
Discuss a pilot studyThe strongest soil polymer, picked before the costly tests
From 17 October 2028, coating agents and water-retention polymers in CE-marked EU fertilising products have to meet the biodegradability criteria in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2770. Those criteria rest on soil and aquatic biodegradation tests, which GelTech doesn't run. GelTech supplies water uptake and mass-loss data in the fluid you choose, so fewer weak candidates go into those tests and better water-saving products reach growers sooner.
- 3x
- higher precision than manual methods, so a real gap between two polymers stands out.
- Compared in realistic water
- Every candidate runs in the same saline or fertilized water, at the pH you set.
- A shortlist sooner
- Carousel weighs every sample around the clock, so a months-long run needs no one on shift.
The same hydrogel holds far less in salty water
Screen soil polymers in the water they'll really meet through Carousel, so you design around the capacity they'll actually have in the field.
Water held, % of capacity in deionized water
Illustrative · mean ± SD
Water held, % of capacity in deionized water. Rated in deionized water, this polymer looks about eight times better than it performs in saline. A capacity result should always name its fluid.
Rated in deionized water, this polymer looks about eight times better than it performs in saline. A capacity result should always name its fluid.
Agricultural hydrogel tests and what each answers
Salts in soil water cut a hydrogel's capacity sharply, so a result means little without the fluid it was measured in.
| Test | What it answers | How it's measured |
|---|---|---|
| Water absorption capacity | Water held once swelling stops. | Mass at equilibrium, in your fluid. |
| Swelling rate | How fast it takes up water after rain or irrigation. | The uptake curve from the first minutes. |
| Salt and pH effects | How far capacity drops in saline or fertilized water, and across soil pH. | The same runs across media, pH 1.5 to 12. |
| Mass loss | How fast a biodegradable hydrogel or coating breaks down. | Hydrated mass, minutes to months. |
| Nutrient release | How fast a coated granule releases nutrients. | Sampled medium, read on integrated instruments. |
Materials and conditions
Soil hydrogels, coated fertilizer granules, films and powders. Weeks or months of breakdown fit in one run.
- Run length, unattended
- Minutes to months
- Temperature
- Ambient to 60 °C
- Media
- pH 1.5 to 12
- Gravimetric readout
- 1 mg
What this testing doesn't cover
- Soil and aquatic biodegradation tests, and biodegradability certification.
- Field trials, and water release as soil dries.
How a study starts
Get a dataset and report on your own material through a pilot study: ship us your formulation, or have us formulate it, and our R&D services team runs the study. Teams that test often can run the same methods on their own Carousel, with install, training and a 30-day trial.
Plan an agricultural hydrogel study
Tell us the material and the water, salt and pH it will meet in the field.