Reactive Films for Mitigating Methyl Bromide Emissions from Fumigated Soil

Abstract

Emissions of methyl bromide (MeBr) from agricultural fumigation can lead to depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, and so its use is being phased out. However, as MeBr is still widely used under Critical Use Exemptions, strategies are still required to control such emissions. In this work, novel reactive films (RFs) were designed and their efficacy in limiting loss of MeBr from soil was tested. A reactive layer, containing dry ammonium thiosulfate (ATS), was sandwiched between two layers of plastic film, the lower layer being HDPE (high-density polyethylene film, which is permeable to MeBr) and the upper layer HDPE or VIF (virtually impermeable film). MeBr diffusion through, and transformation by, the RFs were tested in a stainless-steel permeability cell. Although ineffective when dry, the RFs substantially depleted MeBr when activated with water to produce ATS solution. MeBr half-life (t(1/2)) was around 9.0 h at 20 °C in the presence of activated RF, and was sensitive to temperature (t(1/2) 15.7 and 2.9 h at 10 and 40 °C, respectively). When the upper film layer was VIF, less than 0.15% of the added MeBr diffused through the film, with the remainder being transformed within the reactive layer. These findings indicate that such films have good potential to reduce MeBr loss from fumigated soils to the atmosphere.