KuZilati KuShaari

Review on materials & methods to produce controlled release coated urea fertilizer.

With the exponential growth of the global population, the agricultural sector is bound to use ever larger quantities of fertilizers to augment the food supply, which consequently increases food production costs. Urea, when applied to crops is vulnerable to losses from volatilization and leaching. Current methods also reduce nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by plants which limits crop yields and, moreover, contributes towards environmental pollution in terms of hazardous gaseous emissions and water eutrophication. An approach that offsets this pollution while also enhancing NUE is the use of controlled release urea (CRU) for which several methods and materials have been reported. The physical intromission of urea granules in an appropriate coating material is one such technique that produces controlled release coated urea (CRCU). The development of CRCU is a green technology that not only reduces nitrogen loss caused by volatilization and leaching, but also alters the kinetics of nitrogen release, which, in turn, provides nutrients to plants at a pace that is more compatible with their metabolic needs. This review covers the research quantum regarding the physical coating of original urea granules. Special emphasis is placed on the latest coating methods as well as release experiments and mechanisms with an integrated critical analyses followed by suggestions for future research.

Reaction-Multi Diffusion Model for Nutrient Release and Autocatalytic Degradation of PLA-Coated Controlled-Release Fertilizer

A mathematical model for the reaction-diffusion equation is developed to describe the nutrient release profiles and degradation of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-coated controlled-release fertilizer. A multi-diffusion model that consists of coupled partial differential equations is used to study the diffusion and chemical reaction (autocatalytic degradation) simultaneously. The model is solved using an analytical-numerical method. Firstly, the model equation is transformed using the Laplace transformation as the Laplace transform cannot be inverted analytically. Numerical inversion of the Laplace transform is used by employing the Zakian method. The solution is useful in predicting the nutrient release profiles at various diffusivity, concentration of extraction medium, and reaction rates. It also helps in explaining the transformation of autocatalytic concentration in the coating material for various reaction rates, times of reaction, and reaction-multi diffusion. The solution is also applicable to the other biodegradable polymer-coated controlled-release fertilizers.

Parametric study of tumbling fluidized bed to evaluate nitrogen release characteristics of biopolymer-coated controlled release urea

ABSTRACT To impede nitrogen loss due to leaching and NH3 volatilization, pristine urea particles are coated with synthetic polymers such as poly(acrylic acid) and polyethylene for the controlled release of nitrogen. However, due to nonbiodegradability and environmental and economic issues, these synthetic polymers are replaced with cheap, biodegradable, and green coating materials. In this study, borax-modified starch biopolymer is used to produce controlled release urea (CRU) in a tumbling fluidized bed. Central composite rotatable design is used to study the interactive effect of process parameters on time and kinetics of nitrogen release. Nitrogen release in distilled water is monitored by the UV–Vis spectrophotometer and soil burial test is used to observe release in soil. The optimum values of process parameters and response objectives generated by the analysis of variance are validated by triplicates of confirmation runs and the % error is reported as a precision indicator. A mathematical model is used to determine the diffusion coefficient of nitrogen release. Biopolymer-coated urea results in much better release performance when compared with starch-based CRU reported in the literature. The most influential process parameter both for time and kinetics of nitrogen release appears to be the coating time. Release time increases linearly with coating time and the diffusion coefficient decreases with increase in coating time. The kinetic study reveals that some of the samples followed non-Fickian diffusion and others followed Case-II transport during the release of nitrogen.

Analytical solution of diffusion model for nutrient release from controlled release fertilizer

An analytical method has been developed to solve the initial value problem which arises from Ficks diffusion equation encountered in the modelling of the Controlled Release Fertilizers. The proposed analytical solution is developed using the modified Adomian decomposition method. This method does not require the discretization method, reliability and efficiency of this method is more and it also reduces the calculation time. The model has predicted the effect of granule radius and diffusion coefficient on the nutrient release and total release time of Controlled Release Fertilizer. Model has predicted that increase in the radius of granule reduces the release and vice versa in case of diffusion coefficient. Detailed understanding of these parameters helps in improved designing of Controlled Release Fertilizer.