I have been looking a method to create slow release fertilizer using chitosan. As many answers on this website have suggested, chitosan can be dissolved in acidic medium; however, as i used the chitosan solution to spray on urea (which is slightly basic), the medium reacted with urea and generated H2O) which basically dissolved urea before the coat layer was formed so i could not contain or dry the product. Is there any solution for this problem? Am i going in the wrong direction? I would really appreciate if there is other suggestions. Thank you.
Chitosan is a macromolecular polysaccharide derived from deacetyl group from chitin.Precursor of chitosan is the side production of crustacean.Nearly 10 million tons of chitosan is globally produced , the use of which will solve a considerable environmental issue. Use of sodium alienate and chitosan as two hydrophilous compounds has provided a quite stable coating of urea. Chitosan coating proved to have better compression strength, antiagglomeration ,lesser hygroscopicity caps ity , deep wet depth, wet hold capacity than urea.So it's a quite promising option to use chitosan coated urea...
Thank you for your opinion, still i haven't managed to tackle the mentioned problem
Dear Phu Chi Huynh
Chitosan can be dissolved in the acidic environment. You can dissolve your chitosan in the acetic acid aqueous solution. Then, you can dilute the solution with ethanol. I am not sure whether urea can react with ethanol or not.
Fatih.
Dear Mr. Fatih Erdem Bastan,
Thank you for your suggestion. I will conduct the experiment as soon as possible and will inform the result.
Best regards,
Phu.
I just read this discussion. So, have you found the solutions?
I would be thankful if you can share it. Thanks
Dear Phu Chi Huynh,
Refer to your query, Chitosan is sparingly soluble in water, while aqueous chitosan solution should have acidic pH. During encapsulation of urea, chitosan solution that is acidic pH reacts with urea. Result urea will break down to CO2 and salt.
To prevent this, you can make neutralize the pH of the chitosan solution before encapsulation.
Thnaks
Aloke Purkait Yeah, that's what I was thinking. The chitosan can be initially neutralized before using it as a coating material.
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