Abstract
The development of new fertilizers with significant water retention capacity and sustainable nutrient supplementation for arid and semi-arid regions remains an important challenge. In this study, a novel slow-release fertilizer (CCEH-SRF) based on cellulose citrate ester (CCE), which is low-cost and biocompatible, was developed using epoxy chloropropane (ECH) as a cross-linker and urea as a fertilizer. The CCEH-SRF exhibited higher water swelling (21.58 g·g−1) and water retention capacity (20.69 % in 7 days) compared to the neat cellulose hydrogel (CH). Furthermore, the CCEH-SRF demonstrated improved release performance with cumulative slow-release rates of 48.0 % at 2 hours in water, and 5.3 %, 65.9 %, and 66.7 % after 1 day, 26 days, and 35 days respectively in simulated soil column percolation assays, whereas the CH-based SRF had inferior release performance. The nutrient slow-release of CCEH-SRF followed the First-order kinetic model and Fick diffusion process accurately. Additionally, the developed CCEH-SRF showed positive growth promotion effects on maize seedlings, indicating its promising practical applicability. Therefore, this work provides a novel approach for developing environmentally friendly SRFs by utilizing natural cellulose derivatives from readily available agricultural waste in fields such as waste reuse, sustainable agriculture, and horticulture.
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