Are there any material that contact with water and expand?

[kevin_tee]

Are there any material that contact with water and expand? I can think of sodium polyacrylate, but I can't use it. Thanks.

 

[Dadface]

Anything that's been dehydrated comes to mind such as dried peas. Just thought of something else but I don't know what its called. It comes in powder form and when water is added it expands to a soggy jelly. You can add it to the soil in plant pots to maintain the moisture level.Try your local plant nursery. I guess there are loads of other things.

 

[kevin_tee]

Anything that's been dehydrated comes to mind such as dried peas. Just thought of something else but I don't know what its called. It comes in powder form and when water is added it expands to a soggy jelly. You can add it to the soil in plant pots to maintain the moisture level.Try your local plant nursery. I guess there are loads of other things.

I think the soggy jelly that you mention is SAP(Super absorbent polymer) which is sodium polyacrylate that I mention, but I can't use it. Basically I need a material that significantly increase in volume when hydrate or being stimulate. Thanks.

 

[Dadface]

I'm guessing there are safety issues with SAP. How about dehydrated foodstuffs? If powdered these can probably rehydrate in a short time.

 

[Borek]

Starch.

 

[epenguin]

There are these polysaccharide powders used for gel permeation chromatography (separation on a molar mass basis) sold under the name Sephadex, they swell 10 or more times in volume on adding water.

 

[kevin_tee]

Thanks for every answers.

 

[DrDu]

Gypsum

 

[mesa]

Polyacrylamide and bentonite clays (sodium bentonite in particular). They are pretty swell :)