A review on superabsorbent polymers: application and recent advances in environmental and economic profiling

Abstract Superabsorbent polymers (SAP) are polymer networks that are gaining momentum due to applications in various industries due to their higher liquid absorption capacity and highly porous structure. Apart from their hydrophilic nature which is being exploited in hygiene sector, the structural, thermal, and rheological peculiarities are explored in numerous sectors such as biomedical, hygienic, agriculture, slurry dewatering, and cement and concrete. The current review focuses on the application and the environmental and economic profiling of SAP products. The wide spectrum application of SAP products interferes with the normalization of the associated data. The current review is a maiden attempt to explore the mechanism of absorption and discusses in detail the possible reuse -recycle options. This review further ventures to plot a general trend of SAP on the impact factors drawn from the Technoeconomic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of existing literature. The review highlights the differences in synthetic and bio-SAP usage in terms of economic and environmental footprint with respect to their area of application. It can be comprehended that both TEA and LCA depend on the life span of the product which in turn is a function of the field of application. The cost of production and environmental impact are discussed as a function of raw materials and unit operations involved in the production process. Hence, it was observed that for applications that have shorter life span synthetic SAP is suitable and for longer span applications bio-SAP can be used. Graphical Abstract