Synthesis and performance of bio-based epoxy coated urea as controlled release fertilizer

Nearly 1 billion tons of bagasse are discarded annually in the production process. In this work, a novel controlled release fertilizer was successfully produced by coating urea particles with bio-based epoxy (EPCU). The bio-based epoxy coating was synthesized from the liquefied bagasse (LB) and bisphenol-A diglycidyl ether (BDE) with the different mole ratios of LB to BDE. The chemical structure and microscopic morphology of EPCU were examined by FTIR, 1HNMR, SEM. The nutrient release behaviors and mechanism of EPCUs were also discussed in detail. Results showed that EPCU3 improved the thermal stability by 60.3 °C (T10%), increased the nutrient release longevity by 12 times, and raised the water contact angle of surface by 12%, and then significantly slowed the nitrogen release rate of the EPCU. This work indicated that the environment-friendly EPCU with superior controlled release properties could be especially useful in horticultural and agricultural applications.