Evaluation of Superabsorbent Capacity of Soy Protein-Based Bioplastic Matrices with Incorporated Fertilizer for Crops
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Evaluation of Superabsorbent Capacity of Soy Protein‑Based Bioplastic Matrices with Incorporated Fertilizer for Crops Mercedes Jiménez‑Rosado1 · Víctor Perez‑Puyana2 · José Fernando Rubio‑Valle2 · Antonio Guerrero1 · Alberto Romero2
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Recent studies proposed the use of soy protein-based bioplastic matrices with incorporated micronutrient to mitigate against the excessive use of fertilizers in horticulture. However, the micronutrient incorporation reduced the superabsorbent capacity of these bioplastic matrices. All this reduces their use as a source of water for crops in times of drought, among other possibilities. The objective of this study was to evaluate different alternatives in order to incorporate the desired micronutrient (Zn) in soy protein-based bioplastics without losing the superabsorbent capacity of the latter. For this, three salts were used: zinc sulphate monohydrate (ZnSO4·H2O), zinc chloride (ZnCl2) and zinc chelated with 2,2′,2′′,2′′′-(Ethene-1,2-diydinitrilo) tetraacetic acid (Zn-EDTA). Considering the possible factors that can affect the absorption of these bioplastic matrices, modifications were made in their pH, ionic strength and complex character of the salt. Thus, the amount of load micronutrient, mechanical and morphological properties, as well as water uptake capacity of the bioplastic matrices with different salts incorporated were evaluated. The results of this study helped to understand the effects of the loss of the superabsorbent capacity of soy protein-based bioplastic matrices with incorporated zinc. Keywords Bioplastic matrices · Horticulture · Soy · Superabsorbent · Zinc
Introduction Horticulture is the branch of agriculture dedicated to vegetable cultivation for human consumption, mainly encompassing fruits and vegetables (Relf. 1992), [1]. In 2017, the global horticultural production reached 1.950 billion tons. This production was approximately 11% higher than in 2007 and 2% higher than in 2016 (The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, 2018) [2]. This growth in horticultural exploitation is associated with excessive soil degradation, which cannot be regenerated [3]. This regeneration is enhanced through the use of fertilizers and substrates which contain the necessary nutrients for the successful growth of the desired crop [4]. The nutrients are incorporated into the substrates as salts, however, due to * Mercedes Jiménez‑Rosado [email protected] 1
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Sevilla, 41011 Sevilla, Spain
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Facultad de Química, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
2
the low assimilation of these nutrients by the plants, the salts are solubilized with irrigation or rainwater and are washed away, causing contamination of the subsoil and groundwater by an excess of nutrients [5, 6]. In order to improve the fertilizer efficiency, several works have propose
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