Progress 07/01/24 to 06/30/25
Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience The target audience for this project includes research professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, farmers and biomass producers, government agencies, industry partners, and other key stakeholders. Research Professionals: This group includes agricultural engineers, chemical engineers, and biomass processing scientists. The findings from this project will support the development of new hypotheses and innovative processes that advance fertilizer production and application within sustainable crop systems. Research professionals will be reached through peer-reviewed publications, technical workshops, and presentations at scientific and professional conferences. Undergraduate and Graduate Students: Undergraduate students will engage with the project through laboratory-based coursework and summer internship research programs, helping to prepare them for advanced studies or careers in agriculture, biomass production, or biorefining. Graduate students will be directly involved in research activities that contribute to their thesis or dissertation work, providing them with practical and professional training for careers in academia as well as in the agriculture, fertilizer, energy, and bioproducts industries. Farmers and Biomass/Fertilizer Producers: As both suppliers of biomass feedstocks and end-users of BCRNF, this audience is central to the project's implementation. They will be engaged through extension and outreach programs, including formal and informal training sessions, field demonstrations, exhibitions, and workshops. These activities will also support workforce development, as many students and young professionals entering these sectors will benefit from project outputs. Government Agencies, Industry Partners, and Other Stakeholders: This group will be engaged to disseminate research findings, support commercialization of BCRNF technologies, and inform policy and decision-making. Project updates and outcomes will be shared with funding agencies and governmental bodies through periodic reports and briefings. New knowledge and discoveries will be disseminated via conferences, workshops, publications, and online platforms. Industrial partners will play a vital role in scaling up and applying the technologies to generate economic value, reduce environmental pollution, and enhance sustainability. These efforts will contribute to job creation, the development of value-added products, and broader impacts on local, national, and global economies through the utilization of renewable resources and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and toxic material use. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A postdoc and 10 (6 PhD, 4 M.S.) graduate students participated in the project year 1. Three of them were recruited in this project year. More than 40 undergraduate students were involved in the research activities through the research project of effects of biochar application on oilseed camelina growth integrating with the teaching labs of BOT 327/L (Plant Physiology) in Spring 2025. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The research resulted in 5 peer-reviewed papers in professional journals during project year 3. A total of 12 oral/poster presentations were presented in national and international conferences, such as ASABE 2024 AIM and S-1075 USDA multi-state project annual meeting on July 9 - 14, 2024. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To achieve the project goal, we plan to carry out new research activities in the next reporting period along with the project timeline: Continue to optimize BCRNF fabrication using different biochar sources to examine the effects of biochar properties and sources on BCRNF performance. Perform more greenhouse trials for the produced BCRNF samples to investigate the responses of corn yields and soil microbes to different BCRNF treatments. Synthesize "smart" biopolymer composites as coating materials for the BCRNF fabrication. Identify the sensitivity and reliability of the BCRNF samples coated by "smart" biopolymer composites. Investigate the N loss from BCRNF samples in soil environments under different MC contents, temperatures, pH values and their effects on water quality.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Develop an effective prototype of BCRNF to determine the mechanism of controllable N release. 60% Accomplishment. Different BCRNF samples were synthesized using different formulas and coating materials. The BCRNF samples coating with different thickness of PLA layers showed promising results on controlling N releases. The releasing time of 70% N from of the BCRNF particles went up to 30 days in water. It was found that the PLA coating thickness significantly affected the N releasing rate and time, particle water swelling ratio, water retention ratio, physical strength, etc. It's demonstrated that the BCRNF N releasing time and rate were controlled by changing the PLA coating thickness. It's possible to develop different BCRNF products to get desired N release for specific crop (e.g., corn, or wheat) production. In addition to PLA coating, a new coating material was formulated and tested in this year by comingingethyl cellulose (EC)-Epoxidized soybean oil (ESO), so called (EC-ESO) composite. We fabricated different BCCRNF samples using this EC-ESO composite. The new BCRNF samples were characterized by their physicochemical properties and effectiveness in corn production. A mathematical model was established to simulate N releasing from BCRNF particles core in water using the law of conservation of mass (LCM). The modeling was performed under different environmental conditions. The modeling results showed that the N releasing in water undergo 3 phases: Lag phase is the time needed for the coating layer saturates with water. Constant release phase is to allow N releasing into water in a form of urea by diffusion at a constant rate. The decay release phase is to make solid urea totally dissolve in water, resulting in concentration of urea decreases inside the BCRNF particle cores while reducing N releasing rate. The modeling information is helpful for disclosing the N release mechanism of BCRNF coated by various materials. Objective 2: Evaluate the effectiveness of BCRNF on corn growth via greenhouse trials. 65% Accomplishment. The responses of corn growth to different BCRNF samples and existing commercial fertilizers including environmental smart nitrogen (ESN), and biofertilizer were investigated through greenhouse trials. The 1st greenhouse trial was performed to compare the response of corn to different BCRNFs, ESN, and urea. Ten treatments and a control without additional fertilizers were carried out under greenhouse conditions, including T1= EC/ESO coated BRCNF at 100% of recommended N rate, T2 = EC/ESO coated BRCNF at 50% of recommended N rate, T3 = uncoated BRCNF at 100% of recommended N rate, T4 = uncoated BRCNF at 50% of recommended N rate, T5 = PLA coated BRCNF at 100% of recommended N rate, T6 = PLA coated BRCNF at 50% of recommended N rate, T7 = ESN at 100% of recommended N rate, T8 = ESN at 50% of recommended N rate, T9 = urea at 100% of recommended N rate, T10 = urea at 50% of recommended N rate, C1 = control soil without additional fertilizer. Each treatment was replicated triply. The 2nd greenhouse trial is to investigate responses of corn growth to different different combinations of biochar, compost and biofertilizer, which was purchased from Sono Ag, LLC, located at 1724 Interstate 27, Hale Center, Texas 79401, USA. Eight treatments and a control without additional fertilizers were carried out under greenhouse conditions, including T1 = Control; T2 = Urea (100% of recommendation N rate); T3 = Biofertilizer; T4 = Biochar; T5 = Urea (50% of recommendation N rate ); T6 = Biofertilizer + Biochar; T7 = Biofertilizer + Urea (50% of recommendation N rate); and T8 = Biofertilizer + Biochar + Urea(50% of recommendation N rate). Approximate 200 samples of corn, corn stalk, soil, etc. from these 2 greenhouse trials were collected, stored, or under processing for analyses. The greenhouse testing data may provide useful information to verify the modeling results and N release mechanism, and then further help to optimize the fabrication process to produce cost-effective BCRNF products. Objective 3: Optimize the fabrication process to produce cost-effective BCRNF to improve profitability of corn production. 60% Accomplishment. We tested different formulas to produce BCRNF by changing the combinations of biochar with different ratio of N fertilizers (ammonium sulfate, urea) and biosolids such as crop residue compost, livestock manure, wastewater sludge of cheese plants, etc. Different coating methods (e.g., dip coating, mixing, spray-coating, etc.) and coating materials (e.g., sodium alginate, bio-asphalt, PLA) were also tested to achieve controllable N releasing time and rate as desired. The effects of biochar derived from different biomass feedstock species and production conditions on the BCRNF performances were examined to optimize the BCRNF process. The economic assessment for BCRNF application in South Dakota was conducted using the cost analysis model we developed in early 2024. Based on current urea market price ($350/ metric ton), the results of cost analysis indicated that unit costs of BCRNF products were $0.56/lb, $0.46/lb, and $0.45/lb, respectively when they were produced at 3 different commercial scales: 500 lb/h (small), 2000 lb/h, (medium), and 4000 lb/h (large). Feedstock costs for BCRNF fabrication were the most significant and sensitive component in the production unit costs, accounting for 47.30%, 57.2%, and 59.98% in the total production costs at the 3 respective production scales. The higher production scale the lower BCRNF unit cost. When plant operational shifts changed to 3 shifts from 1 shift, the BCRNF production unit costs can also be significantly reduced. These results showed that larger-scale BCRNF production can low down the product unit costs, making BCRNF a potentially competitive option in the fertilizer markets. The results of economic evaluation were published in the journal of Waste Biomass Valorin May 2025 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-025-03096-4) Objective 4: Examine the influences of BCRNF application on water quality. 30% Accomplishment. Based on literature review, we set up a soil column system for investigating N loss via leaching and the effect of BCRNF on water quality. However, the co-PI, Dr. John McMaine who was response for this objective had left this project on August 22, 2024. A new co-PI, Dr. Xufei Yang was recruited and filled this open on Oct. 22, 2024. He will lead the team to work on this objective 4. The factorial experiments examining the influences of BCRNF application on water quality will be conducted in the project next year.
Publications
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
Robiul I. Rubel, Lin Wei*. Economic Assessment of Biochar-Based Controlled-Release Nitrogen Fertilizer Production at Different Industrial Scales. Waste Biomass Valor (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-025-03096-4
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Robiul I. Rubel, Lin Wei*, Salman Alanazi, Abdulkarim Aldekhail, Anne C. M. Cidreira, Xufei Yang, Sanjita Wasti, Samarthya Bhagia, Xianhui Zhao. 2024. Biochar-compost-based controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer intended for an active microbial community. Front. Agr. Sci. Eng. 2024, Vol. 11 (2): 326-343. DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2024571
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Manish Shrestha and Lin Wei*, 2024. Review: perspectives on the roles of real time sensing and IoT integration in smart agriculture. J. Electrochem. Soc. 171 027526. DOI https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ad22d8
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Robiul I. Rubel, Lin Wei, *, Yajun Wu. Greenhouse Evaluation of Biochar-Based Controlled-Release Nitrogen Fertilizer in Corn Production. Agric Res 13, 113123 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-023-00673-8
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Anne Carolyne Mendonca Cidreira, Lin Wei*, Abdulkarim Aldekhail, Robiul Islam Rubel. 2024. Controlled-release nitrogen fertilizers: A revieon bio-based and smart coating materials, October 2024, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 142(3), DOI: 10.1002/app.56390.
|
Progress 07/01/23 to 06/30/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience includes research professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, farmers and biomass producers, government agencies, industrial partners, and other stakeholders. Professionals in the research community: We are targeting agricultural engineers, chemical engineers, and biomass processing scientists. An understanding on the research results will help them develop hypotheses and effective processes that will advance fertilizer fabrications and applications in sustainable crop production, as well as their own research programs. We will target these individuals through peer-reviewed publications, workshops, and presentations at scientific and professional meetings. Undergraduate and graduate students: Undergraduate students are targeted through lab classes and/or summer internship research programs. This will help them prepare for graduate school or a career in agricultural production, biomass production, or biorefinery and processing. Graduate students are targeted by directly participating in research activities for their thesis/dissertations. These students will get professional training to prepare them for their careers, not only in academia, but also in agriculture, fertilizer, energy, and biorefinery industries. Farmers and biomass and fertilizer producers: This audience is targeted because they are suppliers of biomass feedstocks or wastes, as well as users of the BCRNF products. They are targeted through formal and informal classroom instruction (many undergraduate students will choose agriculture, fertilizer, energy, and biomass production as an occupation) and extension/outreach activities, like workshops, exhibitions, etc. Government agencies, industrial partners, and other stakeholders. This audience is targeted for disseminating new knowledge and commercializing innovative technologies to maximize social, environmental, and economic impacts of the research project. The research progresses and achievements will be reported to the funding sponsors and/or government agencies to provide information for making decisions or policies, even, legislation through regular project reports. The new discovering and knowledge will be disclosed to stakeholders and/or public through publications, conferences/meeting, workshop, and websites. The innovative technologies will be applied by the industrial partners to create employment and generate new products or value-added products for maximizing impacts on the local, national, and international economy while minimizing environmental pollutions through usage of renewable resources, reducing carbon footprint and toxic materials and so on. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A total of 8 graduate students (5 PhD, 3 M.S.) participated in the project year 2. One M.S. student graduated in Spring 2024. Two new (1 PhD, 1 M.S.) students were recruited in Summer 2024. More than 30 undergraduate students were involved in the research activities through the research project of effects of biochar application on growth of spring wheat integrating with the teaching labs of BOT 327/L (Plant Physiology) in Spring 2024. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The research results were published in 4 papers in professional journals in the project year 2, and 2 manuscripts are under reviewing. A total of 8 oral/poster presentations were accepted to present in the national and international conferences (ASABE 2024 AIM and S-1075 USDA NIFA multi-state project annual meeting on July 25 - 31, 2024). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?According to the project goal, we plan to carry out new research activities in next reporting period along with the project timeline: Continue to optimize BCRNF fabrication using different biochar sources to examine the effects of biochar properties and sources on BCRNF performance. Perform more greenhouse trials for the produced BCRNF samples to investigate the responses of corn yields and soil microbes to different BCRNF treatments. Synthesize "smart" biopolymer composites as coating materials for the BCRNF fabrication. Identify the sensitivity and reliability of the BCRNF samples coated by "smart" biopolymer composites. Investigate the N loss from BCRNF samples in soil environments under different MC contents, temperatures, pH values and their effects on water quality.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Develop an effective prototype of BCRNF to determine the mechanism of controllable N release. 50% Accomplishment. We developed different BCRNF samples using different formulas and coating materials. The BCRNF samples coating with different thickness of PLA layers showed promising results on controlling N releases. The releasing time of 70% N from of the BCRNF particles went up to 30 days in water. The PLA coating contents or thickness significantly affected the N releasing rate and time, particle water swelling ratio, water retention ratio, physical strength, etc. It's demonstrated that the BCRNF N releasing time and rate were controllable by changing the PLA coating contents/thickness. It's possible to develop different BCRNF products to get desired N release for specific crop (e.g., corn) production. Other than PLA coating, two new coating materials, combination (EC-ESO) of ethyl cellulose (EC)-Epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) and prolypropylene (PP), were tested for fabricating new BCRNF products. Conventional N fertilizer, urea, was mixed with biochar and different biosolids (e.g., compost, manure, etc.) at designed formulas to produce BCRNF particles with 3 mm diameter at the lengths ranging from 3 to 5 mm. These BCRNF particles were then coated by the EC-ESO solution. The results showed that the releasing time of 70% N in water for the BCRNF coated by the EC-ESO increased to 7 days (168 hours), compared to 1.5 hours of the uncoated BCRNF samples. These results indicated that the N releasing time and rate of the EC-ESO-coated BCRNF particles were also controllable by changing the coating materials. It's possible to develop cost-effective BCRNF products for crop production when we use these low-cost coating materials. The BCRNF coated by different materials would be tested to identify their effectiveness through corn greenhouse trials in Objective 2. Objective 2: Evaluate the effectiveness of BCRNF on corn growth via greenhouse trials. 30% Accomplishment. We conducted two greenhouse trials of corn growth under different BCRNF treatments in the project year 2. The first trial was to investigate the impacts of different biochar application rates on soil microbial dynamics, nutrient availability and yield potential in Maize (Zea mays) production. Different organic sources including biochar, manure and compost were applied on the surface of the soil and incorporate well up to the depth of 6 inches to simulate actual farming practices. A total of 9 treatments with 3 replications for every treatment were carried out for this corn greenhouse trial. The combinations of these treatments include: 1) the control without any addition of biochar, manure, compost, and urea; 2) only biochar at 3 different rates (2 ton/acre, 4 ton/acre, and 6 ton/acre); 3) biochar at a rate of 4 ton/acre to combine with manure at a rate of 4 ton/acre; 4) biochar at a rate of 4 ton/acre to combine with compost at a rate of 4 ton/acre; 5) biochar at a rate of 4 ton/acre to combine with both manure and compost at the rate of 1 ton/acre; 6) biochar at a rate of 4 ton/acre to combine with conventional urea fertilizer at 50% of the recommendation N rate (RNR); 7) conventional urea at 100% of RNR. After each pot was filled with 38.6 lbs of the same topsoil got from the corn field of SDSU research farms, pre-emerged corn seeds were sown in the pots. The soil moisture content was maintained at field capacity at the time of sowing. Two seeds per pot were sown at the time of sowing and after germination, seedlings were thinned to keep only one seedling, with similar size in each pot to simulate the plant density. The plants are grown under greenhouse conditions at 14h day/10h night, ~65% humidity and 25oC with supplemental lighting. During the corn growth, leaf number, plant height, root depth, and leaf chlorophyll index were recorded weekly. Leaf chlorophyll index that is directly correlated with nitrogen content in plants was measured every week. The testing results revealed that soil treated with the recommendation N rate (RNR) of urea fertilizer had significant bearing on grain yield, compared to the treatment of biochar application rate at 2 ton per acre and the control treatments. The 100 seeds' weight of corn grain was significantly influenced by the treatment of recommendation N rate, compared to the treatements of biochar + manure+ composte (T6), biochar at 2 ton/acre (T1), and control (T9) while non-significant to other treatments. Another greenhouse trial was conducted to examine the responses of soil properties and corn yields to different BCRNF samples that were pre-coated by different coating materials. A total of 12 treatments with 3 replications for every treatment were carried out for the second corn greenhouse trial. The combinations of these treatments include: 1) the control without any addition of fertilizers; 2) conventional urea fertilizer at 3 different RNR levels (100%, 80%, and 60%) 3) biochar at a rate of 4 ton/acre to combine with urea at 80% of RNR; 4) comerical environmental smart nitrogen (ESN); 5) uncoated BCRNF; 6) BCRNF coated by Polyatic acid (PLA); 7) BCRNF coated by ethyl cellulose (EC)-Epoxidized soybean oil (EC-ESO); 7) BCRNF coated by Polhypropylene (PP). The results showed that the highest yield created by the uncoated-BCRNF treatment, which is statistically equal to the treatment 80% RNR and ESN treatments but saved 20% N. The soil analysis data does not give straight results in terms of significance level. In order to get more clarity about the impact on yield, yield contributing attributes, and soil properties, there is a need to run the experiment for 2 or 3 more cycles onto the same soil pots. Objective 3: Optimize the fabrication process to produce affordable BCRNF to improve profitability of corn production. 30% Accomplishment. We designed specific formulas to fabricate different BCRNF products by changing the combinations of biochar with different ratios of N fertilizers (e.g., urea) and biosolids such as crop residue compost, livestock manure, wastewater sludge of cheese plants, etc. Different coating methods (e.g., dip coating, mixing, spray-coating, etc.) and coating materials (e.g., PLA, EC-ESO, and PP) were used to achieve controllable N releasing time and rate as desired. We are also going to investigate the effects of biochar derived from different biomass feedstock species and production conditions on the BCRNF performances so that we can optimize the fabrication process to produce affordable BCRNF to improve profitability of corn production. However, we are collecting data from the ongoing experiments but not much information to be reported at this year 2 report. A pilot scale BCRNF process was established in the bioprocessing lab on SDSU campus at a capacity of 20 lbs/hr. About 300 lbs of different BCRNF samples was produced for the corn greenhouse and field trials during this reporting period. Objective 4: Examine the influences of BCRNF application on water quality. 10% Accomplishment. After the optimal BCRNF product is identify, we will carried out the objective 4 in the project year 3 as proposed in the project, but there is not much data of influence of BCRNF on water quality available in this project year 2.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Hu*, Zhong.; Lin Wei. Review on Characterization of Biochar Derived from Biomass Pyrolysis via Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J. Compos. Sci. 2023, 7, 354. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs7090354
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Robiul I. Rubel, Lin Wei*, Yajun Wu, Surbhi Gupta, Salman Alanazi, Abdus Sobhan, Augustina Osabutey, Xufei Yang. Greenhouse Evaluation of Biochar-Based Controlled-Release Nitrogen Fertilizer in Corn Production. Agric Res. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-023-00673-8
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Manish Shrestha and Lin Wei*, 2024. Review: perspectives on the roles of real time N sensing and IoT integration in smart agriculture. J. Electrochem. Soc. 171 027526. DOI https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ad22d8
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Robiul I. Rubel, Lin Wei*, Salman Alanazi, Abdulkarim Aldekhail, Anne C. M. Cidreira, Xufei Yang, Sanjita Wasti, Samarthya Bhagia, Xianhui Zhao. 2024 Biochar-compost-based controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer intended for an active microbial community. Front. Agr. Sci. Eng. https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2023.
|
Progress 07/01/22 to 06/30/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience includes research professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, farmers and biomass producers, government agencies, industrial partners, and other stakeholders. Professionals in the research community: We are targeting agricultural engineers, chemical engineers, and biomass processing scientists. An understanding on the research results will help them develop hypotheses and effective processes that will advance fertilizer fabrications and applications in sustainable crop production, as well as their own research programs. We will target these individuals through peer-reviewed publications, workshops, and presentations at scientific and professional meetings. Undergraduate and graduate students: Undergraduate students are targeted through lab classes and/or summer internship research programs. This will help them prepare for graduate school or a career in agricultural production, biomass production, or biorefinery and processing. Graduate students are targeted by directly participating in research activities for their thesis/dissertations. These students will get professional training to prepare them for their careers, not only in academia, but also in agriculture, fertilizer, energy, and biorefinery industries. Farmers and biomass and fertilizer producers: This audience is targeted because they are suppliers of biomass feedstocks or wastes, as well as users of the BCRNF products. They are targeted through formal and informal classroom instruction (many undergraduate students will choose agriculture, fertilizer, energy, and biomass production as an occupation) and extension/outreach activities, like workshops, exhibitions, etc. Government agencies, industrial partners, and other stakeholders. This audience is targeted for disseminating new knowledge and commercializing innovative technologies to maximize social, environmental, and economic impacts of the research project. The research progresses and achievements will be reported to the funding sponsors and/or government agencies to provide information for making decisions or policies, even, legislation through regular project reports. The new discovering and knowledge will be disclosed to stakeholders and/or public through publications, conferences/meeting, workshop, and websites. The innovative technologies will be applied by the industrial partners to create employment and generate new products or value-added products for maximizing impacts on the local, national, and international economy while minimizing environmental pollutions through usage of renewable resources, reducing carbon footprint and toxic materials and so on. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A total of 7 (5 PhD, 2 M.S.) graduate students participated in the project year 1. Three of them were recruited in Spring and Summer 2023. More than 35 undergraduate students were involved in the research activities through the research project of effects of biochar application on growth of spring wheat integrating with the teaching labs of BOT 327/L (Plant Physiology) in Spring 2023. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The research results were published in 3 papers in professional journals in the project year 1, and 3 manuscripts are under reviewing. A total of 12 oral/poster presentations were presented in the national and international conferences (ASABE 2023 AIM and S-1075 USDA multi-state project annual meeting on July 9 - 14, 2023). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?According to the project goal, we plan to carry out new research activities in next reporting period along with the project timeline: Continue to synthesize effective BCRNF samples using different biochar sources to examine the effects of biochar properties and sources on BCRNF performance. Perform more greenhouse trials for the produced BCRNF samples to investigate the responses of corn yields and soil microbes to different BCRNF treatments. Synthesize "smart" biopolymer composites as coating materials for the BCRNF fabrication. Identify the sensitivity and reliability of the BCRNF samples coated by "smart" biopolymer composites. Investigate the N loss from BCRNF samples in soil environments under different MC contents, temperatures, pH values and their effect on water quality.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Develop an effective prototype of BCRNF to determine the mechanism of controllable N release. 30% Accomplishment. Biochar, a solid residue byproduct resulting from various biomass thermochemical processes in the bioprocessing and bioenergy industries, was used as a carrier for the BCRNF fabrication. The biochar derived from pyrolysis of crop residues was mixed with N fertilizers (e.g., ammonium sulfate, urea, etc.) to impregnate N nutrients and then pelletized to small particles with diameter of 3 mm and length less than 5 mm. The pellets were encapsulated in a "smart" coating layer consisting of a lignocellulosic composite produced from agricultural residues and or forest wastes. This coating was designed to respond to soil conditions such as moisture content, temperature, or pH value. Our hypothesis was that the combination of this coating layer and subsequent desorption of nitrogen from the biochar would make the BCRNF a "smart" fertilizer, to provide timely and efficient N release to improve corn growth. We were conducting multiple experiments to identify if the BCRNF would be able to effectively control N release to synchronize with the N demand of corn growth, while significantly reducing N loss to underground water to minimize adverse environmental impacts. We produced different BCRNF samples using different compositions of fertilizer particles and coating materials. Ammonium sulfate (AS) was firstly selected as N fertilizer for synthesis of BCRNF samples. The 1st BCRNF sample was synthesized by impregnating AS to biochar and then pelletizing into particles, followed by coating sodium alginate (Molecular Formula: C6H9NaO7) solution on the particle surfaces, named alginate coated BCRNF (called A-BCRNF). The A-BCRNF samples had very higher water absorbance and retention rates, but their N release rate and time were difficult to be controlled. Therefore, the A-BCRNF process was not further moved on to next step research. The 2nd BCRNF sample was synthesized by impregnating AS into biochar and then pelletizing to particles, followed by coating bio-asphalt derived from corn stover pyrolysis, named bio-asphalt coated BCRNF (called Ba-BCRNF). Different BCRNF particles coated by different thicknesses of bio-asphalt layers were tested for their N releases. The results indicated that the N releases of Ba-BCRNF samples were controllable, depending on the BCRNF particle composition, structure, and coating thickness. The releasing time of 70% N from of the Ba-BCRNF particles could be up to 12 days in water and 35 days in soil columns. However, it was found that bio-asphalt may negative impact, even, inhibit soil microbiome of plant rhizospheres. Bio-asphalt was discarded for BCRNF synthesis. The 3rd BCRNF sample was synthesized by integrating AS and biochar with additions of agricultural residues' composts and dairy sludge. Either agricultural residues' composts or cheese plant sludge was mixed with biochar impregnated with AS and then aged for at least two weeks. After that, the mixture was pelletized to particles, followed by coating polylactic acid (PLA) solution, named PLA coated BCRNF (called P-BCRNF). Various P-BCRNF samples coating with different thickness of PLA layers were tested for their N releases. The releasing time of 70% N from of the P-BCRNF particles could be up to 30 days in water. The results also indicate that the PLA coating contents may significantly affect the N releasing rate and time, particle water swelling ratio, water retention ratio, physical strength, and so on. It's demonstrated that the N releasing time and rate from P-CRNF particles were controllable. The promising results led to synthesize the 4th BCRNF sample, which was synthesized by combining urea with biochar and different biosolids (e.g., compost, manure, etc.) and then coated by PLA solution. The testing results indicated that the 4th BCRNF samples coated by PLA solution performed well in controlling N release in water. The N releasing rate and time can be controlled by changing the coating contents for developing different BCRNF products as desired. To examine the response of corn growth on different BCRNF treatments, a greenhouse trial was started on June 12th, 2023, in the Objective 2. Objective 2: Evaluate the effectiveness of BCRNF on corn growth via greenhouse trials. 10% Accomplishment. We started a new greenhouse trial of corn growth under different BCRNF treatments on June 12th, 2023. A soil pot system was used to evaluate the effectiveness of 4th BCRNF on corn productivity in the greenhouse trials. The pots were filled with the topsoil of corn fields, which was purchased from regional farmers close to SDSU campus. Common corn cultivars used by SD growers were selected for the tests. After germination, seedings were thinned to keep only one seedling, with similar size in each pot to simulate the plant density in fields. The plants were grown under greenhouse conditions at 14h day/10h night, ~65% humidity and 25oC with supplemental lighting. Soil mineral contents were analyzed to determine the basal N level. The 4th BCRNF samples were applied on the surface of the soil to simulate actual fertilization in farming practices at a rate that refers to 40,000 plants/acre and yield potential of 200 bu/acre. Four treatments, 9 plants per treatment, were evaluated: 1) control - only water was provided to the plants without any fertilizer addition; 2) conventional urea fertilizer; 3) commercial control release fertilizer (CCRF: Greenway Brand: Nitroform 39-0-0); and 4) BCRNF. Leaf number, plant height, root depth, and leaf chlorophyll index were recorded weekly. Leaf chlorophyll index that is directly correlated with nitrogen content in plants was measured every week. We are observing the responses of corn growth on different BCRNF treatments, but not much information to be reported at this moment. Objective 3: Optimize the fabrication process to produce affordable BCRNF to improve profitability of corn production. 10% Accomplishment. We have tried different formulas for the BCRNF synthesis by changing the combinations of biochar with different ratio of N fertilizers (ammonium sulfate, urea) and biosolids such as crop residue compost, livestock manure, wastewater sludge of cheese plants, etc. Different coating methods (e.g., dip coating, mixing, spray-coating, etc.) and coating materials (e.g., sodium alginate, bio-asphalt, PLA) were also tested to achieve controllable N releasing time and rate as desired. we are going to investigate the effects of biochar derived from different biomass feedstock species and production conditions on the BCRNF performances so that we can optimize the fabrication process to produce affordable BCRNF to improve profitability of corn production. However, we are collecting data from the ongoing experiments but not much information to be reported at this moment. Objective 4: Examine the influences of BCRNF application on water quality. 0% Accomplishment. We haven't carried out the objective 4 in the first year of project but will start to conduct research activities on the effects of BCRNF on agricultural water systems in next project year.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Das, B.K.; Rubel, R.I.; Gupta, S.; Wu, Y.; L. Wei; Brözel, V.S. 2022. Impacts of Biochar-Based Controlled-Release Nitrogen Fertilizers on Soil Prokaryotic and Fungal Communities. Agriculture, Vol. 12, 1706. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101706
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Robiul Islam Rubel, Lin Wei*, 2022. Controlled Release Nitrogen Fertilizer Coatedwith Polylactic Acid. Journal of Polymers and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-022-02512-3.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Sikander Ameer, Muhammad J. M. Cheema, Muhammad A. Khan, Muhammad Amjad, Mohsin Noor, Lin Wei*, 2022. Delineation of nutrient management zones for precise fertilizer management in wheat crop using geo-statistical techniques. Soil use and management. https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12813
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