Sustainable and Biodegradable Copolymers from SO₂ and Renewable Eugenol: A Novel Urea Fertilizer Coating Material with Superio Slow Release Performance

Abstract

To enhance SO 2 utilization, improve fertilizer use efficiency, and minimize the negative environmental impact, the novel slow release sulfurcontaining urea fertilizers with good biodegradation performance were developed by coating with the sustainable poly(eugenol sulfone) derived from renewable eugenol and SO 2 . The poly(eugenol sulfone) was synthesized by a simple free radical polymerization under mild conditions, and structural features of the synthesized copolymers were studied by various characterization techniques. Characterization results revealed that the copolymers exhibited the strict alternating copolymerization structures containing OSO. A set of systematically designed experiments were carried out to determine the influences of the amount of initiator, reaction time, and reaction temperature on the molecular structure, release, and biodegradation behavior of the coated fertilizers. The obtained results proved that the coated fertilizers showed excellent release and biodegradation features. Moreover, the release and biodegradation rate of the coated fertilizers can be adjusted by changing the molecular weight of poly(eugenol sulfone). In addition, the kinetic study on the slow release characteristics of poly(eugenol sulfone)-coated fertilizers showed that the best fitting effect was obtained by the Ritger−Peppas equation. This work offers a simple and useful strategy for designing sulfur-containing urea fertilizers with excellent slow release and biodegradation performance and provides a new route for sulfur recycling. In the future, the fertilizer will be deeply tested to evaluate their impact on plant growth, chemical, and biological soil properties.

Controlled Release Fertilizers: A Review on Coating Materials and Mechanism of Release

“…Liu et al [ 60 ] synthesized polysulfone using SO 2 and eugenol as a coating material and showed a superior nutrient release of 70% in 30 days. Increasing molecular weight (M w ) of the polymer decreases the rate of degradation as the intrusion of moisture is prevented.…”

“…This increases the cost of raw materials. This method was reported in various studies that use polyurethane, epoxy, and gypsum as the coating materials [ 33 , 49 , 51 , 53 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. The rotary drum is usually pre heated to around 70 ± 2 °C for 5 to 10 min before placing the urea prills.…”

Assembly of Metal–Phenolic Networks on Water‐Soluble Substrates in Nonaqueous Media

“…It is worth noting that the self-assembly coating provides a uniform coating without generating voids between the coating and granule, which is important in coating applications. [59][60][61]…”

New High-Performance Materials: Bio-Based, Eco-Friendly Polyimides

“…Various natural, eco-friendly chemical structures have been produced and used after several modifications of their chemical function to access sustainable and eco-friendly polymers. These include vanillin [29] or bio-succinic acid [30] for semi-aromatic polyesters, lignins for phenolic oligomers [31], epoxidized castor oils for thermosetting architectures [32], catechol-based moieties for highly adhesive polymers [33], biodegradable copolymers from SO2, renewable eugenol for biodegradable materials [34] or cashew nut shell liquid for various systems [35].…”