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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Cross-linked Cellulose Ester/Linseed Oil Composites for Controlled Release Fertilizers
ClearAdvancements and challenges in controlled-release fertilisers: An approach to integrate biopolymer-based strategies
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.
Synthesis of a New Biocomposite for Fertiliser Coating: Assessment of Biodegradabilityand Thermal Stability
Researchers developed a biocomposite made from cellulose nanoparticles, natural rubber, and polylactic acid for use as a biodegradable fertilizer coating. Using natural biopolymers to coat fertilizers instead of conventional plastic films could help reduce agricultural microplastic contamination from plastic-coated slow-release fertilizers.
Fully bio-based polyurethane coating for environmentally friendly controlled release fertilizer: Construction, degradation mechanism and effect on plant growth
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.
Engineering biodegradable coatings for sustainable fertilisers
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.
Plant stimuli-responsive biodegradable polymers for the use in timed release fertilizer coatings
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.
Synthesis of a new biocomposite for fertiliser coating: assessment of biodegradability and thermal stability
Researchers created a new biodegradable composite material combining cellulose nanoparticles, natural rubber, and polylactic acid, finding it would fully break down in soil within about 3,000 hours while being more heat-resistant than standard polylactic acid alone. This type of biodegradable material could replace conventional plastic coatings in agriculture, helping reduce the microplastic pollution caused by plastic mulches and fertilizer coatings.
Generation Characteristics of Micro Plastics from Different Types of Coated Controlled-Release Fertilizer Films
Researchers conducted soil incubation experiments simulating five years of continuous application of three polymer-coated controlled-release fertilizers to characterize microplastic generation from their degrading coating films. The study found that the polymer coating type significantly affected both fertilizer release characteristics and microplastic production, with changes in soil nitrogen fractions and electrical conductivity influencing the rate of membrane shell degradation and subsequent plastic particle release.
Development of Fertilizer Coatings from Polyglyoxylate–Polyester Blends Responsive to Root-Driven pH Change
Researchers developed biodegradable fertilizer coatings made from a self-degrading polymer blended with polycaprolactone or polylactic acid, designed to release nutrients in the acidic zone around plant roots. Replacing conventional non-biodegradable polymer coatings on fertilizers could significantly reduce microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils.
Advances in Controlled Release Fertilizers: Cost‐Effective Coating Techniques and Smart Stimuli‐Responsive Hydrogels
This review examines advances in controlled release fertilizer technology, focusing on cost-effective coating techniques and smart hydrogels that release nutrients in response to environmental conditions. Researchers found that while these technologies improve nutrient efficiency and reduce environmental pollution from fertilizer runoff, the coatings themselves can introduce microplastic contamination into soils. The study calls for development of fully biodegradable coating materials that deliver the benefits of controlled release without adding to plastic pollution in agricultural lands.
Functionalization of slow-release fertilizers and “passive predation microplastics” mechanism for polylactic acid composites
Researchers developed a biodegradable fertilizer film made from polylactic acid (PLA) and modified lignin that can slowly release nutrients while breaking down naturally in soil, offering an alternative to conventional plastic mulch. The study also explored how plants absorb tiny fragments of bio-based plastics, which is important for understanding whether even biodegradable alternatives still pose risks to food safety.
Mechanisms of microplastic generation from polymer-coated controlled-release fertilizers (PC-CRFs)
This study investigated how the plastic coatings on slow-release fertilizers break down and release microplastics into soil. Significantly more microplastic particles were released in soil conditions than in water alone, and wet-dry cycles accelerated the breakdown, meaning agricultural soils receiving these fertilizers may be accumulating substantial amounts of microplastic pollution.
Bio-based polyurethane as a sustainable coating material for controlled-release fertilizer
Researchers developed a bio-based polyurethane coating from palm kernel oil to create controlled-release fertilizer as an alternative to petroleum-based coatings. They found that adjusting the coating thickness and composition could effectively regulate how quickly nutrients are released to plants. The study offers a more sustainable approach to agricultural fertilizer delivery that reduces both environmental pollution and dependence on fossil fuel-derived materials.
Deep eutectic solvent-mediated extraction of lignin: A novel strategy for producing high-quality biopolymers in controlled-release mulching applications
Researchers developed a biodegradable mulch film made from lignin, chitosan, and polyvinyl alcohol that can also slowly release fertilizer to crops. The film matched the thermal insulation and water retention properties of conventional plastic mulch while breaking down naturally in soil. The study offers a promising alternative to plastic mulch films, which are a major source of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils.
Biodegradation of microplastics derived from controlled release fertilizer coating: Selective microbial colonization and metabolism in plastisphere
Scientists studied how microplastics from fertilizer coatings break down in soil over more than two years, finding that polyethylene degraded the most (nearly 17% weight loss) while producing secondary microplastic fragments and chemical byproducts. Specific bacteria and fungi colonized the plastic surfaces, forming biofilms that helped break down the material. This research shows that coated fertilizers are a direct source of microplastic pollution in farmland, where the breakdown products could enter crops and groundwater.
Evaluating novel biodegradable polymer matrix fertilizers for nitrogen‐efficient agriculture
Researchers designed and evaluated biodegradable polymer matrix fertilizers for nitrogen-efficient agriculture, testing their performance in simulated tropical conditions and finding improved nitrogen retention compared to conventional fertilizers, though with some trade-offs in release kinetics.
Synthetic lignin-like and degradable nanocarriers
Scientists synthesized biodegradable nanocarriers from bio-based lignin-like building blocks, creating materials that can be broken down by fungal enzymes and could deliver agrochemicals to crops. Developing biodegradable delivery systems could reduce the plastic packaging waste that eventually fragments into microplastics.
Analysis of Slow-Released Fertilisers as a Source of Microplastics
Analysis of slow-release fertilisers coated with polymer shells found that these products can release microplastics into agricultural soils as the coatings degrade. Two major manufacturers' products showed varying polymer compositions and differing abilities to adsorb soil contaminants, raising concerns about MP accumulation from fertiliser use.
Surface Engineering of Nanocellulose-Based Composites for Smart Slow-Release Fertilizers: A Short Review
This review examines surface engineering of nanocellulose-based composites for smart slow-release fertilizers, addressing the gap between the need to increase food production and the environmental degradation caused by inefficient conventional nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers.
Carboxylated Nanocellulose Superabsorbent: Biodegradation and Soil Water Retention Properties
Researchers tested biodegradable, cellulose-derived superabsorbent polymers for improving soil water retention in agriculture. Unlike conventional petroleum-based superabsorbents, these cellulose-based materials degrade in soil rather than persisting as microplastic particles.
Plastics–Fertilizer Homology: Solid-Phase Molecular Assembly Enables Natural Closed-Ring Cycle of Biomass-like Plastics
Researchers developed a new type of biomass-like plastic made from alginate and plant-derived materials that functions as both a usable plastic and a soil fertilizer after disposal. The material showed mechanical strength comparable to conventional plastics while being fully biodegradable, breaking down in soil and actually promoting plant growth. This approach could address microplastic pollution by creating plastics that safely return to the natural cycle rather than persisting in the environment.
The long-term effects of microplastics on soil organomineral complexes and bacterial communities from controlled-release fertilizer residual coating
After a 10-year field experiment with controlled-release fertilizer application in China, residual plastic coating microplastics were found in soil at levels that altered soil organomineral complexes and bacterial community structure, raising sustainability concerns about this widely used agricultural technology.
A biobased, bioactive, low CO2impact coating for soil improvers
Researchers developed a bio-based, low-carbon coating system made from natural materials for use in lawn and soil management applications. Eco-friendly coatings that replace synthetic polymer coatings could reduce the microplastic particles shed by conventional plastic-coated slow-release products.
Decomposition Rate and Microplastic Residue Formation of Photodegradable Resin-Coated Controlled-Release Fertilizers (CRFs)
This study tested whether adding titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as a photocatalyst to the polymer coatings of controlled-release fertilizers could prevent those coatings from leaving microplastic residues when they degrade. The TiO₂-containing fertilizer coating fully decomposed under simulated sunlight within 60 days with no detectable plastic residues, while the standard fertilizer only degraded 14–31%. Polymer-coated fertilizers are a major and often overlooked source of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils, and this study suggests photocatalytic coatings could eliminate that residue entirely.
Biopolymer-based nanocarriers for sustained release of agrochemicals: A review on materials and social science perspectives for a sustainable future of agri- and horticulture
This review examines how biopolymer-based nanocarriers can deliver fertilizers and pesticides more efficiently in agriculture, reducing the need for excessive chemical applications. Unlike conventional plastic-based delivery systems, these biodegradable carriers do not generate persistent microplastic pollution in farmland. The study also considers the social and economic factors that influence whether these environmentally friendly alternatives can successfully compete with conventional approaches.