Applicability of Crude Glycerol as the Multifunctional Additive for the Preparation of Mulching Coatings

Abstract

Crude glycerol represents ca. 10 % of the product output in biodiesel production. As the biodiesel production increases exponentially, the amount of resulting crude glycerol is extensively high. The problem of its disposal or effective utilization is of increasing importance. In this work, the composities of poly(vinyl alcohol), horn meal and crude glycerol with the mass ratios of crude glycerol and poly(vinyl alcohol) 0.75, 1.5 and 2.25 were prepared and used for the formation of mulching coatings. The influence of the addition of crude glycerol to the composites on the mechanical, viscoelastic properties, swelling and dimensional stability in water of the composite films was examined. The increase of the amount of glycerol resulted in the increase of elasticity and dimensional stability of the composite films. The effect of the mulch films containing the different amount crude glycerol on evaporation of water from the substrate, vegetation of plants, soil properties and weeds (wild mustard and mixture of weed seeds of 10 moieties) germination was examined. The lowest loss of moisture was observed for the substrates coated with the layers of the composites containing the highest amount of glycerol. Mulching coatings inhibited the germination of weeds. Enhancement of this effect was observed with the increase of the amount of glycerol in the composites used for mulching.