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Engineering biodegradable coatings for sustainable fertilisers
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This review explored engineering biodegradable coatings for controlled-release fertilizers as sustainable alternatives to conventional plastic-coated products, addressing concerns about microplastic contamination from agricultural plastic films while maintaining effective nutrient delivery to crops.
With the pressures of a changing global climate and ever-growing population, the need for sustainable agricultural practices that increase crop yields while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions are critical. Currently used practices to increase yields can often be problematic due to low nitrogen use efficiency or a potential overreliance on agrichemicals that can alter the community composition of a given ecosystem, although this is typically system and situation dependent. As such, the next generation of enhanced efficiency fertilisers that combine chemical, materials engineering and biological components are likely to be a game changer. Integral to their success is a better understanding of how plant–soil microbiomes interact with the new enhanced efficiency fertilisers, and how we can best tailor the fertilisers to suit different plant–soil combinations. In particular, the biodegradation properties of new fertiliser coatings must be given careful consideration so as to not further burden agricultural soils with microplastics or cause ecotoxicity problems. This perspective proposes novel, interdisciplinary strategies to generate highly efficient, biodegradable fertiliser coatings for use in the agricultural sector.
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Advancements and challenges in controlled-release fertilisers: An approach to integrate biopolymer-based strategies
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This review examines controlled-release fertilizers, which are designed to deliver nutrients to plants gradually, and finds that many use synthetic polymer coatings that can leave microplastic residues in soil. The authors highlight biopolymers made from natural materials like chitosan, cellulose, and starch as promising alternatives that can biodegrade without contributing to plastic pollution. The shift toward biodegradable fertilizer coatings could help reduce a significant but often overlooked source of agricultural microplastic contamination.
Biodegradable Alternatives to Synthetic Polymer Coatings in the Production of Controlled-Release Fertilizers
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Many fertilizers used today are coated in plastic to slowly release nutrients into soil, but that plastic doesn't fully break down—it builds up in farmland as microplastics that can eventually make their way into our food and water. This review paper looks at plant-based alternatives (made from things like starches, plant fibers, and biodegradable plastics) that could do the same job of slow-release feeding without leaving lasting plastic residue behind. The research suggests these greener coatings show real promise, though scientists still need to test how well they hold up in real farm conditions before they can replace plastic coatings at a large scale.
Fully bio-based polyurethane coating for environmentally friendly controlled release fertilizer: Construction, degradation mechanism and effect on plant growth
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Researchers developed a fully bio-based polyurethane coating for controlled-release fertilizers using castor oil and a plant-derived chemical. Unlike conventional polyurethane coatings that persist in soil as microplastics, this coating showed strong biodegradability while still effectively controlling nutrient release. The study offers a practical solution to reduce microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils from fertilizer coatings.
Plant stimuli-responsive biodegradable polymers for the use in timed release fertilizer coatings
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This study developed plant-stimulated biodegradable polymer coatings for controlled-release fertilizers that break down when triggered by root secretions, releasing nutrients when plants need them. The innovation addresses the problem of conventional fertilizer coatings made from non-degradable polymers that contribute to microplastic contamination in agricultural soils.
Controlled-Release Fertilizers: Innovations, Challenges, and Practical Applications
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This review paper looks at "slow-release" fertilizers designed to feed crops more efficiently while cutting down on runoff that pollutes water supplies. The catch: many of these fertilizers are coated in plastic to control how nutrients release, and that coating can break down into microplastics that end up in soil, water, and potentially our food. The researchers highlight promising plant-based and biodegradable alternatives being developed, but note more work is needed before these safer options are ready for widespread farm use.
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