Design and Development of Biodegradable Sapling Pot with Biodegradable Polymer and Biomass
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1219-AA04-01
Design and Development of Biodegradable Sapling Pot with Biodegradable Polymer and Biomass Seiichiro Isobe1, Itaru Sotome1, Hiroshi Okatome1, Masaru Wakisaka2 and Yoshinobu Ueki2 1.National Food Research Institute, 2-1-12 kannondai, Tsukuba, 305-8642, Japan 2. Nara Fruit Tree Research Center, Japan ABSTRACT Processes for biodegradable molded products were developed. However, commercial products are still being made to adapt to specific purposes. To improve the molded product properties, we tested blending polylactic acid (PLA) or Poly butylenes succinate adipate (PBSA) into corn gluten meal (CGM) based agro by-product ingredients. Molded samples could be formed from all tested materials, and each sample had specific physical properties. Finally, we selected suitable conditions for a practical field test of a large sapling pot for persimmon saplings. INTRODUCTION Molded products were jointly produced with Showa Sangyo Co. and The Japan Steel Works from corn gluten meal-based agro by-products by injection molding (Fig. 1).1 In this process, we were able to successfully reduce costs and to obtain solid molded products for practical use by adopting the injection molding method, which has many advantages in productivity (low cost, high moldability, and flexibility to make various shapes of molds). At present, we are working to assess actually applied biodegradable molded products and to improve products for different purposes. We introduce one application for a fruit tree cultivation system using a biodegradable sapling pot. We anticipate that a farmer using such a pot would be able to directly plant the sapling with its pot in the field, thus reducing the steps in the cultivation process. A g ro-bio polym e r A dd itives B le nding an d p elletiza tion
P elle tization with a n e xtru de r
P e lletiza tion w ith a D esk -pe llete r
P re pa red p ellet
In jection m olding
M an ufa ctu re of pro ducts F ig.1 D eveloped process u sing injection m olding w ith agro-biopoly m er
MATERIALS AND METHODS Persimmon saplings are used as sample fruit tree saplings. First, a small pot (pellet weight about 30g) was made of CGM, rice husk flour (as filler), and starch (as plastisizer). A negative effect on plant growth was detected, so this pot is not acceptable for persimmon saplings. The fruit tree saplings usually are kept in the pot more than half a year. Those pots could not remain physically stable for such a long time (Photo 1). We therefore made a new pot using PLA or PBSA instead of CGM. This pot could remain stable for more than one year. No negative impacts on plant growth were noted (Photo 2). We next attempted to make a large pot (pellet weight about 250g, height 180mm, top diameter 180mm, and bottom diameter 120mm) to test in the field using persimmon saplings at the Nara Fruit Tree Research Center. We first designed a new mold and then injected the large pots with different ingredients (PLA or PBSA, several blend ratios among polymers, filler (rice husk flour), and plastisizer (starch)).
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