Egypt opposes huge problems in its agricultural sector due to water scarcity.

So,
Chitosan, a base material for the synthesis of novel biodegradable water absorbent
is used to prevent water loss through evaporation. Chitosan is a natural
polysaccharide composed of a partially de-acetylated material of chitin; a basic
polymer, extracted from the shells of shrimps. Furthermore, its preparation is
illustrated as follows:

Biodegradable Chitosan is added to acrylic acid monomer (AA) since it is easily

soluble in acidic solutions. So, An acrylic acid monomer was grafted onto chitosan
biomolecules using cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN) as an initiator which breaks
down the weakest bond ( π bond) and N,N’-Methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a
crosslinking agent. This improves not only biodegradability properties, but also
reduces the dependence on petrochemical-derived monomers and thus acts as a
sustainable and renewable one. This process repeats itself until the amount of (AA)
is fully polymerized with Chitosan forming acrylic polymer, the main target to
make superabsorbent Chitosan. Moreover, the function of N,N’-
Methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) crosslinking agent is to interconnect the linear
chain of polymers and to form a porous network like structure which has the
flexibility to absorb water without breaking the bond till a limited value,
conserving the desalinated water from evaporation.