DEVELOP BIOCHAR-BASED CONTROL RELEASE NITROGEN FERTILIZERS USING BIODEGRADABLE POLYPROPYLENE
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Date
2023-12-21
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South Dakota State University
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) is an indispensable key nutrient for crop plant growth, health, and yield, which significantly affects crop productivity. N fertilizers are wildly utilized in agriculture. Managing N application stands as a necessity to achieve optimal crop yield. Urea is one of the most common N fertilizers in agricultural practices due to its high N content and cost-effectiveness. Due to its commercial scale, feasibility, and reliability, it is demonstrating potential as a medium to improve agricultural sustainability. However, economic challenges, and environmental pollution remain as setbacks. This research focuses on selecting cost-effective and environmentally friendly coating materials for the fabrication of biochar-based controlled-release nitrogen fertilizers (BCRNFs) to address the challenges, such as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), N lost through leaching, volatilization, and runoff into the water systems. To address economic challenges, biodegradable polypropylene (PP) was selected in this study to examine its economic viability and biodegradability in the BCRNF fabrication and application. This material was used to coat the BCRNF particles using a dipping method, which enables the particles to control the release of nitrogen, synchronizing with the nitrogen uptake of crops. The BCRNF particles were synthesized by mixing biochar, urea, and water, resulting in characterized pellets with 3mm diameter and a length that varied from 5 to 7 mm. Particles were made through a palletization process. Subsequently, a complete evaluation of different concentrations of PP solutions was done by employing dipping technology to coat the particles of BCRNFs. The biochar particles undergo examination to elucidate their nitrogen release dynamic within aqueous environments. These developed biochar samples went under comprehensive assessment to determine their efficiency in promoting the growth of various crops, with more focus on the corn and wheat trials. The findings of the research were recorded as a promising approach in the agricultural field. Furthermore, the broad vision of this research topic is to endeavor to the commercialization of modern technology. It is projected that the research will lead to the widespread production of BCRNFs, and it will significantly enhance the productivity of the agricultural sector and the future of sustainability in precision agriculture. The new environmentally friendly fertilizer BCRNF was fabricated in a pelletizing machine and coated with PP 15(%). The results show that the release of Nitrogen was 99.65 (%) for the coated samples which corresponded to 8 (hr), and it can be compromised depending on the efficiency of the dipping method. The produced particles showed more successes on plants growth, health, and overall yield on the wheat trial in the greenhouse. The single coat layer observed under the microscope can be distinguished from the non-coated samples. Due to the large pores and high surface area, biochar shows improvements in keeping water which was the result of water retention, and absorption in soil and air. The BCRNFs retained water at 80 (%) and 60 (%) on the 3rd and 6th day respectively. BCRNFs reflected the maximum weight gain within the 4th day, and the weights were observed for the coated particles and non-coated at 3% and 2% respectively.
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Keywords
Slow Release Technology, Coating, Nitrogen, Corn Trial, Fertilizer, Smart Fertilizer