In Spain, researchers altered the composition of soy to design a new bioplastic that can absorb up to 40 times its own weight. Since it is organic and biodegradable, they are looking into potential uses in horticulture and as a raw material to make agricultural nutrient dispensers, as well as consumer items like hygiene and sanitary products.
Soy is already pretty absorbent and able to absorb 12 times its own weight, but by interfering with the composition of soy, researchers were able to up that quite a bit. While the researchers will also be experimenting with other materials like cotton, their next step in the soy application is to see how it does in land and farm use as nutrient dispensers and assess its biodegradability.