Abstract
To improve the crop yield and nitrogen uptake efficacy, a novel slow-release urea composite fertilizer (SUCF) was developed using inverse vulcanized copolymer with better biodegradation and nutrient release longevity. Copolymers were synthesized via inverse vulcanization of jatropha oil, and their properties were evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powdered-X-ray diffractometry (p-XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SUCFs were developed by ex situ mixing of inverse vulcanized copolymer with urea powder using mechanical mixer, and their properties were evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FTIR spectra of developed fertilizer possesses the urea characteristics peaks along with the undisturbed peaks representing copolymer, confirming the mechanical mixing and that no reaction took place. SEM images of the SUCFs compared with images of copolymer revealed the appearance of new isolated particles with different morphology; EDX mapping showed that these particles represent the urea added to the copolymer. Nitrogen release longevity of developed fertilizers was evaluated in both soil and distilled water. The leaching test revealed that only 70% of the total nitrogen of SUCF prepared from 50 wt% sulfur copolymer was released after 16 days of incubation in distilled water, whereas it released only 35% nitrogen after 20 days in soil. The biodegradability of all copolymers developed was investigated by burying in soil and it revealed their biodegradable nature as weight loss was observed, which increased with the increase of incubation period.
Highlights
It is projected that global population, which is 7.9 billion today, will exponentially grow to 10 billion by 2050 [1,2]
70% of all urea applied to crops is estimated to be lost to the environment, resulting in low nutrient-use efficiency (NUE) and high cost [7,8,9]
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra ofposall and comparing the spectra, it was found that spectrum of the pristine jatropha
Summary
It is projected that global population, which is 7.9 billion today, will exponentially grow to 10 billion by 2050 [1,2]. To make food security certain for this constantly increasing population, by increasing the crop yield while reducing the environmental impact and preserving the soil health, will be challenging. The agriculture sector is consuming ever larger amounts of the fertilizers to boost the crop yield, especially nitrogen (N). Urea is the most used N fertilizer. In the soil, the N is vulnerable to losses due to surface run-off, nitrate leaching, and ammonia volatilization, disturbing the neighboring ecosystem [5,6]. 70% of all urea applied to crops is estimated to be lost to the environment, resulting in low nutrient-use efficiency (NUE) and high cost [7,8,9]
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