Grants and Contributions:

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Title:

Fabrication of a dual-purpose biodegradable superabsorbent from flax fiber

Agreement Number:

EGP

Agreement Value:

$25,000.00

Agreement Date:

Feb 7, 2018 -

Organization:

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Location:

Saskatchewan, CA

Reference Number:

GC-2017-Q4-01734

Agreement Type:

Grant

Report Type:

Grants and Contributions

Additional Information:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

Recipient's Legal Name:

Tabil, Lope (University of Saskatchewan)

Program:

Engage Grants for universities

Program Purpose:

Superabsorbent hydrogels are high-value biomaterials utilized as water absorbent, immobilizer or as cellx000D
carriers. They find application in several sectors such as packaging, agricultural, biomedical, tissue engineeringx000D
and regenerative medicine industries. Cellulosic materials could be used as a sustainable source material for thex000D
fabrication of superabsorbent hydrogels. Seed flax production byproduct, mainly flax fiber, is a cellulose-richx000D
material that has not been researched and used as raw material for superabsorbent fabrication. There is a lack ofx000D
technology and technical information to modify this natural fiber to superabsorbent hydrogels.x000D
The main objective of this project is to fabricate superabsorbent hydrogels from intact and chemically modifiedx000D
flax fiber. The fibrous material will be processed through sol-gel mechanism to turn it into a superabsorbentx000D
material. The potential application of the fabricated hydrogels will be tested for bioenergy/energy application asx000D
extreme water absorbents for water-bioethanol mixture and greenhouse/agriculture application as a moisturex000D
reservoir in the soil. The mechanical, physical and water-absorption performance of the fabricated hydrogelsx000D
will be tested and compared with commercial superabsorbents through standard procedures.