Biochar-compost-based controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer intended for an active microbial community

Highlights

● Biochar-compost-based controlled-release urea fertilizer (BCRUF) pellets with an active microbial community were successfully synthesized.

● The releasing time of 80% N in BCRUF was 4–6 h in the water and 192 h (8 days) in soil.

● Processing parameters of BCRUF fabrication was influencing the microbe populations in the pellets.

● The BCRUF showed very promising characteristics to improve NUE and sustainability in agricultural production.

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) fertilizers in agriculture suffer losses by volatilization of N to the air, surface runoff and leaching into the soil, resulting in low N use efficiency (NUE) (\text{lt}50%) and raising severe environmental pollutions. Controlled-release nitrogen fertilizers (CRNFs) can control the release of N nutrients to NUE in crop production. Different methods were used to develop new CRNFs. However, different CRNF technologies are still underdeveloped due to inadequate controlling on N releasing time and/or unsustainable diffusion. The study on the influences of CRNF processing parameters on microbial conditions are lacking when the CRNFs composed of various bio-ingredients such as biochar, composts, and biowaste. The complexity of processing methods, material biodegradability, and other physical properties make current CRNFs of questionable value in agricultural production. This research aims to develop a novel biochar-compost-based controlled-release urea fertilizer (BCRUF) to preserve microbial properties carried by the compost. The BCRUF was synthesized by pelletizing the 50:50 (dry, wt/wt) mixture of biochar and compost. BCRUF was loaded with urea and then spray-coated with polylactic acid (PLA). The releasing time of two types of BCRUFs, coated and uncoated with PLA, for 80% of N release in water was up to 6 h at three different temperatures (4, 23, and 40 °C), compared to conventional urea fertilizer and commercial environmentally smart N (ESN) fertilizer. The releasing time of coated BCRUF for 80% N release in soil was up to 192 h (8 days). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed that no new functional groups were found in the release solution, indicating no new chemical hazards generated. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests also verified that its thermal stability could be up to 160 °C. The microbe populations in the BCRUF pellets were reduced after the pelleting and drying processes in BCRUF fabrication, but a few bacteria can endure in the air-drying process. BCRUF pellets soaked in water for 4 days retained some bacteria. The BCRUF showed very promising characteristics to improve NUE and sustainability in agricultural production.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Soil microbial community / biochar / compost / controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer / polylactic acid / spray coating.

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Acknowledgements

This research received funding supports from the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development (POC2020-04), the USDA NIFA through the North Central Regional Sun Grant Center, and Hatch Projects (3AR652, 3AR689, and 3AH658) of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. UT-Battelle LLC partly authored this manuscript under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with DOE. The US Government retains, and the publisher acknowledges that the US Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript or allow others to do so for US Government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these federally sponsored research results per the DOE Public Access Plan.

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Robiul Islam Rubel, Lin Wei, Salman Alanazi, Abdulkarim Aldekhail, Anne C. M. Cidreira, Xufei Yang, Sanjita Wasti, Samarthya Bhagia, and Xianhui Zhao declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2024. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)