Highly degradable chitosan-montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposite hydrogel for controlled fertilizer release

doi:10.1007/s11783-023-1653-9

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2023, Vol. 17

Issue (5) : 53 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1653-9

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Highly degradable chitosan-montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposite hydrogel for controlled fertilizer release

Zeou Dou¹, Maria Vitoria Bini Farias¹, Wensi Chen¹, Dongjing He², Yuhang Hu^2,³, Xing Xie¹(

)

¹. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
². George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
³. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA

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Abstract

● A controlled-release fertilizer was developed based on chitosan biopolymer scaffold.

● Chitosan-MMT scaffold achieved a well-controlled nutrient release.

● Highly water-absorbing chitosan-MMT hydrogels enhanced the soil water retention.

● Physically crosslinked chitosan-MMT hydrogels exhibited excellent degradability.

Fertilizer consumption is increasing drastically along with the rapid expansion of farming in response to the ever-growing population. However, a significant portion of the nutrients in traditional fertilizers is lost during leaching and runoff causing economic loss and environmental threats. Polymer-modified controlled-release fertilizers provide an opportunity for mitigating adverse environmental effects and increasing the profitability of crop production. Here, we present a cheap and easy-to-fabricate controlled-release fertilizer excipient based on hydrogels scaffolded by safe and biodegradable chitosan and montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclays. By introducing elastic and flexible physical crosslinking induced by 2-dimensional (2D) MMT nanoflakes into the chitosan hydrogel, highly swellable and degradable chitosan-MMT nanocomposites were fabricated. The addition of MMT into the chitosan hydrogels enhanced the total release of phosphorous (P) and potassium (K), from 22.0 % to 94.9 % and 9.6% to 31.4 %, respectively, compared to the pure chitosan gel. The chitosan-MMT nanocomposite hydrogel achieved a well-controlled overall fertilizer release in soil. A total of 55.3 % of loaded fertilizer was released over 15 d with a daily release of 2.8 %. For the traditional fertilizer podwer, 89.2 % of the fertilizer was washed out during the first irrigation under the same setup. In the meantime, the nanocomposites improved the water retention of the soil, thanks to its excellent water absorbency. Moreover, the chitosan-MMT nanocomposite hydrogels exhibited high degradation of 57 % after swelling in water for 20 d. Such highly degradable fertilizer excipient poses minimal threat to the long-term fertility of the soil. The engineered Chitosan-MMT biopolymer scaffold as a controlled-release fertilizer excipient provides a promising opportunity for advancing sustainable agriculture.

Keywords Biopolymer Hydrogel Controlled-release fertilizer Nanoclay Nanocomposite

Corresponding Author(s): Xing Xie

Issue Date: 22 November 2022

Cite this article:

Zeou Dou,Maria Vitoria Bini Farias,Wensi Chen, et al. Highly degradable chitosan-montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposite hydrogel for controlled fertilizer release[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2023, 17(5): 53.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-023-1653-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2023/V17/I5/53

Fig.1 Schematics demonstrating the crosslinking of chitosan-montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites.

Fig.2 (a–e) SEM images of chitosan-MMT nanocomposites of 0 wt% (a), 3.3 wt% (b), 10 wt% (c), 16.7 wt% (d), and 23.3 wt% (e) MMT nanoclay crosslinked with 2.3 wt% GA. (f) Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) mapping images of chitosan-MMT of 16.7 wt% MMT crosslinked with 1.15 wt% GA. (g) Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of uncrosslinked chitosan, chemically crosslinked chitosan gel, MMT powder, chitosan-MMT nanocomposite loaded with NPK fertilizer, and NPK fertilizer powder.

Fig.3 Shear modulus (a) and swelling ratio in DI water (b) of chitosan-MMT composites of different MMT contents.

Fig.4 (a, b) Cumulative fertilizer release profile of chitosan-MMT composite hydrogels of different GA contents (a) or MMT contents (b) (total fertilizer loaded in the gel was 300 mg/g). (c) Specific final cumulative release of each nutrient element after 20 d. The dash lines indicate the total NPK loaded, respectively. (d) Degradation ratio of the composites in water after 20 d. Insets are the pictures of the filtered residual gels.

Fig.5 (a) Percentage of fertilizer release of 10 % MMT nanocomposite as a function of time. Korsmeyer-Peppas: n = 0.14; k = 27.56 d^–0.14; R² = 0.995; Peppas-Sahlin: m = 0.11; k₁ = 18.87 d^–0.11; k₂ = 8.56 d^–0.11; R² = 0.995. (b) Fickian release fraction, F, from 10 % MMT nanocomposite hydrogel with m = 0.11, as a function of percentage release, when k₁ = 18.87 d^–0.11; k₂ = 8.56 d^–0.11.

Fig.6 Fertilizer release in soil columns from chitosan-MMT (10 wt%) nanocomposite hydrogels and fertilizer powder (30 mg fertilizer loaded).

Tab.1 Controlled-release fertilizers

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