Abstract
Urea is one of the most widely used nitrogen fertilizers. However, it is lost to the environment via processes such as denitrification, surface runoff, volatilization, and leaching. In this paper, a novel material is reported on, with low production cost and avoiding the use of harmful solvents, with a pastille morphology developed by a simple method from a mixture of wheat gluten and urea, with potential use as a prolonged-release system of urea (PRSU). The PRSU obtained was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, kinetics of water absorption, equilibrium water content (EWC), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy analysis, and release kinetics. The PRSU diameter was 2.46 cm, and its thickness was 0.17 cm. The PRSU showed physical and structural characteristics such as micropores and hollow fractions in its structure. In addition, the wheat gluten pastille is classified as a swelling material and demonstrated an EWC of 58.47 ± 1.50%. FT-IR analysis of the samples showed hydrogen-bond interactions between the amino and carbonyl groups in the urea and the wheat gluten proteins. Laboratory tests showed that the system can release 97% of the urea within 8–10 h. These results showed that the PRSU presents suitable characteristics for its application as a fertilization alternative for carrying out better agronomic practices.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Geng J, Sun Y, Zhang M, Li C, Yang Y, Liu Z, Li S (2015) Long-term effects of controlled release urea application on crop yields and soil fertility under rice-oilseed rape rotation system. Field Crops Res 184:65–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2015.09.003
Edrisi A, Mansoori Z, Dabir B (2016) Urea synthesis using chemical looping process–Techno-economic evaluation of a novel plant configuration for a green production. Int J Greenhouse Gas Control 44:42–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2015.10.020
Koohestanian E, Sadeghi J, Mohebbi-Kalhori D, Shahraki F, Samimi A (2018) A novel process for CO2 capture from the flue gases to produce urea and ammonia. Energy 144:279–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.12.034
Li P, Lu J, Wang Y, Wang S, Hussain S, Ren T, Cong R, Li X (2016) Nitrogen losses, use efficiency, and productivity of early rice under controlled-release urea. Agric Ecosyst Environ 251:78–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.09.020
Cayuela ML, Van Zwieten L, Singh BP, Jeffery S, Roig A, Sánchez-Monedero MA (2014) Biochar's role in mitigating soil nitrous oxide emissions: A review and meta-analysis. Agric Ecosyst Environ 191:5–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2013.10.009
Yamamoto CF, Pereira EI, Mattoso LH, Matsunaka T, Ribeiro C (2016) Slow release fertilizers based on urea/urea–formaldehyde polymer nanocomposites. Chem Eng J 287:390–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2015.11.023
Mukerabigwi JF, Wang Q, Ma X, Liu M, Lei S, Wei H, Huang X, Cao Y (2015) Urea fertilizer coated with biodegradable polymers and diatomite for slow release and water retention. J Coat Technol Res 12(6):1085–1094. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-015-9703-2
Tallaksen J, Bauer F, Hulteberg C, Reese M, Ahlgren S (2015) Nitrogen fertilizers manufactured using wind power: greenhouse gas and energy balance of community-scale ammonia production. J Cleaner Prod 107:626–635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.130
Tian X, Li C, Zhang M, Li T, Lu Y, Liu L (2018) Controlled release urea improved crop yields and mitigated nitrate leaching under cotton-garlic intercropping system in a 4-year field trial. Soil Tillage Res 175:158–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.08.015
Naz MY, Sulaiman SA (2016) Slow release coating remedy for nitrogen loss from conventional urea: a review. J Controlled Release 225:109–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.01.037
Tasca AL, Nessi S, Rigamonti L (2017) Environmental sustainability of agri-food supply chains: An LCA comparison between two alternative forms of production and distribution of endive in northern Italy. J Cleaner Prod 140:725–741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.06.170
Fujinuma R, Balster NJ, Norman JM (2009) An improved model of nitrogen release for surface-applied controlled-release fertilizer. Soil Sci Soc Am J 73(6):2043–2050. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2009.0085
Azeem B, KuShaari K, Man ZB, Basit A, Thanh TH (2014) Review on materials & methods to produce controlled release coated urea fertilizer J Controlled Release 181:11–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2014.02.020
Sartain JB, Hall WL, Littell RC, Hopwood EW (2004) New tools for the analysis and characterization of slow-release fertilizers. Environ Impact Fertil Soil Water 872:180–195. https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2004-0872.ch013
Simonne EH, Hutchinson CM (2005) Controlled-release fertilizers for vegetable production in the era of best management practices: teaching new tricks to an old dog. HortTechnology 15(1): 36–46. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH.15.1.0036
Morgan KT, Cushman KE, Sato S (2009) Release mechanisms for slow-and controlled-release fertilizers and strategies for their use in vegetable production. HortTechnology 19(1):10–12. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.19.1.10
Adams C, Frantz J, Bugbee B (2013) Macro- and micronutrient-release characteristics of three polymer-coated fertilizers: Theory and measurements. J Plant Nutr Soil Sc 176(1):76–88. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201200156
Xiaoyu N, Yuejin W, Zhengyan W, Lin W, Guannan Q, Lixiang Y (2013) A novel slow-release urea fertiliser: physical and chemical analysis of its structure and study of its release mechanism. Biosys Eng 115(3):274–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2013.04.001
Castro-Enríquez DD, Rodríguez-Félix F, Ramírez-Wong B, Torres-Chávez PI, Castillo-Ortega MM, Rodríguez-Félix DE, Armenta-Villegas L, Ledesma-Osuna AI (2012) Preparation, characterization and release of urea from wheat gluten electrospun membranes. Materials 5(12):2903–2916. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma5122903
Xiao X, Yu L, Xie F, Bao X, Liu H, Ji Z, Chen L (2017) One-step method to prepare starch-based superabsorbent polymer for slow release of fertilizer. Chem Eng J 309:607–616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2016.10.101
Barreras-Urbina CG, Ramírez-Wong B, López-Ahumada GA, Burruel-Ibarra SE, Martínez-Cruz O, Tapia-Hernández JA, Rodriguez Felix F (2016) Nano-and micro-particles by nanoprecipitation: Possible application in the food and agricultural industries. Int J Food Prop 19(9):1912–1923. https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2015.1089279
Tapia-Hernández JA, Rodríguez-Félix DE, Plascencia-Jatomea M, Rascón-Chu A, López-Ahumada GA, Ruiz-Cruz S, Barreras-Urbina CG, Rodríguez-Félix F (2018) Porous wheat gluten microparticles obtained by electrospray: Preparation and characterization. Adv Polym Technol 37:2314–2324. https://doi.org/10.1002/adv.21907
Wieser H (2007) Chemistry of gluten proteins. Food microbiol 24(2):115–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2006.07.004
Scherf KA, Koehler P, Wieser H (2016) Gluten and wheat sensitivities–an overview. J Cereal Sci 67:2–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2015.07.008
Joye IJ, Nelis VA, McClements DJ (2015) Gliadin-based nanoparticles: Stabilization by post-production polysaccharide coating. Food Hydrocolloids 43:236–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2014.05.021
Tapia-Hernández JA, Torres-Chávez PI, Ramírez-Wong B, Rascón-Chu A, Plascencia-Jatomea M, Barreras-Urbina CG, Rangel-Vázquez NA, Rodríguez-Félix F (2015) Micro-and nanoparticles by electrospray: advances and applications in foods. J Agric Food Chem 63(19):4699–4707. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.5b01403
Li Q, Ma Z, Yue Q, Gao B, Li W, Xu X (2012) Synthesis, characterization and swelling behavior of superabsorbent wheat straw graft copolymers. Bioresour Technol 118:204–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2012.03.028
Kim SJ, Park SJ, Kim SI (2003) Swelling behavior of interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels composed of poly (vinyl alcohol) and chitosan. React Funct Polym 55(1):53–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1381-5148(02)00214-6
Qiao ZA, Chai SH, Nelson K, Bi Z, Chen J, Mahurin SM, Xiang Z, Dai S (2014) Polymeric molecular sieve membranes via in situ cross-linking of non-porous polymer membrane templates. Nat Commun 5:3705. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4705
Chavda HV, Patel CN (2011) Effect of crosslinker concentration on characteristics of superporous hydrogel. Int J Pharm Investig 1(1):17. https://doi.org/10.4103/2230-973X.76724
Hammann F, Schmid M (2014) Determination and quantification of molecular interactions in protein films: a review. Materials 7(12):7975–7996. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma7127975
Nandi S, Winter HH (2005) Swelling behavior of partially cross-linked polymers: a ternary system. Macromolecules 38(10):4447–4455. https://doi.org/10.1021/ma048335e
Zaleski R, Stefaniak W, Gorgol M, Gil M, Krasucka P, Goworek J (2019) Swelling of cross-linked polymers in silicones of different molecular weight. Polymer. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2019.121611
Ozel B, Uguz SS, Kilercioglu M, Grunin L, Oztop MH (2017) Effect of different polysaccharides on swelling of composite whey protein hydrogels: a low field (LF) NMR relaxometry study. J. Food Process Eng. 40(3):e12465. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpe.12465
Rizwan M, Yahya R, Hassan A, Yar M, Azzahari AD, Selvanathan V, Sonsudin F, Abouloula CN (2017) pH sensitive hydrogels in drug delivery: Brief history, properties, swelling, and release mechanism, material selection and applications. Polymers 9(4):137. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9040137
Dórame-Miranda RF, Rodríguez-Félix DE, López-Ahumada GA, Castro-Enriquez DD, Quiroz-Castillo JM, Márquez-Ríos E, Rodríguez-Félix F (2018) Effect of pH and temperature on the release kinetics of urea from wheat-gluten membranes obtained by electrospinning. Polym Bull 75(11):5305–5319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-018-2327-9
El-Rehim HA, Hegazy ESA, El-Mohdy HA (2004) Radiation synthesis of hydrogels to enhance sandy soils water retention and increase plant performance. J Appl Polym Sci 93(3):1360–1371. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.20571
Barreras-Urbina CG, Rodríguez-Félix F, López-Ahumada GA, Burruel-Ibarra SE, Tapia-Hernández JA, Castro-Enríquez DD, Rueda-Puente EO (2018) Microparticles from wheat-gluten proteins soluble in ethanol by nanoprecipitation: preparation, characterization, and their study as a prolonged-release fertilizer. Int. J of Polym Sci. 2018:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1042798
Zhang Y, Tu D, Shen Q, Dai Z (2019) Fish scale valorization by hydrothermal pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis for gelatin hydrolysate production. Molecules 24(16):2998. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24162998
Barth A (2007) Infrared spectroscopy of proteins. Biochim et Biophys Acta (BBA)-Bioenerget, 1767(9), 1073–1101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbabio.2007.06.004
Robertson GH, Cao TK, Gregorski KS, Hurkman WJ, Tanaka CK, Chiou, BS, Glenn GM, Orts WJ (2014) Modification of vital wheat gluten with phosphoric acid to produce high free swelling capacity. J Appl Polym Sci. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.39440
Timilsena YP, Adhikari R, Casey P, Muster T, Gill H, Adhikari B (2015) Enhanced efficiency fertilisers: a review of formulation and nutrient release patterns. J Sci Food Agric 95(6):1131–1142. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.6812
Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate the economic support given by CONACYT, through the project of basic science 178436, and the Universidad de Sonora. Carlos G. Barreras-Urbina, José Agustín Tapia-Hernández, and Daniela D. Castro-Enríquez thank CONACYT for the granted scholarship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barreras-Urbina, C.G., Plascencia-Jatomea, M., Wong-Corral, F.J. et al. Simple method to obtaining a prolonged-release system of urea based on wheat gluten: development and characterization. Polym. Bull. 77, 6525–6541 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-019-03074-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-019-03074-6