The super absorbent powder, a valuable tool in the management of body fluids

25/09/20

Super absorbent powder: a solution against the spread of body fluids

Super absorbent powder or sodium polyacrylate is a super absorbent polymer, which can absorb and retain very large amounts of a liquid compared to its own mass, up to one hundred or several thousand times its mass in liquid within seconds. (1)

When dehydrated, it usually comes as a white powder that can be dispersed over a liquid to gel.

The super absorbent polymer, a recent and effective solution

Be aware that the higher the concentration of salt in the water used, the higher the required amount of super absorbent polymer. But this property can also be used to liquefy the gel again. By adding salt to the gel, it is turned back into a liquid.

The super absorbent polymer was invented quite recently: its first commercial use was in about 1970 in sanitary napkins and incontinence diapers for adults in the United States, it was then introduced in infant diapers in Europe in 1982.

Indeed, another key benefit is that it is not sensitizing to the skin or mucous membranes, and has low irritation potential.

It is also now used in various fields, from biomedical to the electrical industry (for fireproofing electric cables, for example).

It is therefore a great ally in the management of all body fluids and therefore excreta.

It is, indeed, this component that makes it possible to offer bags for the secure collection of excreta, thanks to the pad containing super absorbent included in the bags. This component can also be offered on its own as a powder or in a water-soluble sachet to gel potentially contaminated biological fluids and facilitate their transport and elimination in laboratory analysis, for example (blood, urine, etc.)

 

You can discover here the super absorbent solutions Dr Helewa

Source

  1. PAC, 2004, 76, 889. (Definitions of terms relating to reactions of polymers and to functional polymeric materials (IUPAC Recommendations 2003)) on page 903