Development of Sustainable Sulfur-Rich Hydrogels
Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Courtney Jenkins, Idaho State University
Presentation Date
7-15-2026
Abstract
In recent years, droughts have become more common and severe, limiting water supply while increasing the need for irrigation. Due to the Clean Air Act, sulfur emissions have decreased resulting in improved air quality, and less sulfur deposition in soil. As soil becomes drier and increasingly sulfur deficient, solutions are needed to support agricultural production. Instead of being released in burning fuel, sulfur is removed during petroleum refinement leading to the production of ~80 million tons annually. Inverse vulcanization utilizes this excess sulfur as a monomer building block, solvent, and radical initiator to synthesize polymers with high sulfur content. This project used varying amounts of sulfur, itaconic acid, garlic essential oil and plant-based filler to achieve a sulfur-rich hydrogel system. Polymers were submerged in deionized water and evaluated based on water absorption and leaching. By optimizing the formulation and reaction conditions, these hydrogels absorbed over 150% water compared to its initial mass in 24 hours. When the successful hydrogels were added to soil columns, they retained more water than the soil alone. These results indicate that sulfur-based hydrogels have the potential to increase soil water retention while using excess sulfur.
Development of Sustainable Sulfur-Rich Hydrogels
In recent years, droughts have become more common and severe, limiting water supply while increasing the need for irrigation. Due to the Clean Air Act, sulfur emissions have decreased resulting in improved air quality, and less sulfur deposition in soil. As soil becomes drier and increasingly sulfur deficient, solutions are needed to support agricultural production. Instead of being released in burning fuel, sulfur is removed during petroleum refinement leading to the production of ~80 million tons annually. Inverse vulcanization utilizes this excess sulfur as a monomer building block, solvent, and radical initiator to synthesize polymers with high sulfur content. This project used varying amounts of sulfur, itaconic acid, garlic essential oil and plant-based filler to achieve a sulfur-rich hydrogel system. Polymers were submerged in deionized water and evaluated based on water absorption and leaching. By optimizing the formulation and reaction conditions, these hydrogels absorbed over 150% water compared to its initial mass in 24 hours. When the successful hydrogels were added to soil columns, they retained more water than the soil alone. These results indicate that sulfur-based hydrogels have the potential to increase soil water retention while using excess sulfur.