Sustainable Fertilizer Delivery Systems and Biosorbents

Safeguarding Malaysia's Rich Water Resources

Team Members:Chan EWCChia PX, Huang CMT, Wong CW

Malaysia in Southeast Asia

Malaysia is rich in water resources that have contributed immensely to its socio-economic development over the past decades

Water quality is an important consideration for urban lakes to fulfill their socio-economic role

However, many of the lakes, rivers and reservoirs are threatened by eutrophication and clean water is scarce in some localities

Introduction

Vast areas in the state of Pahang are converted to farmland Reduces amount of treatable water

Conversion of water catchment areas

Problem statement

Most of the lakes and rivers in Malaysia have little in the means of water treatment

2. CMC-based Biosorbents to absorb ions from the lake to improve water quality.

1. CMC-based Fertilizer Delivery Systems to reduce the loss from leaching and associated water pollution.

Proposed Solution

Project PlanSynthesis of CMC

Crosslinking of CMC

Absorption & Release Kinetics

Large Scale Synthesis & Crosslinking

Field studies

Benchmark for innovation

Few studies conducted on CMC synthesis from the major Malaysian crops

Much research on cellulose from crops of developed countries such as wheat, soy and maize

Studies on ionic CMC hydrogels are much more common than those on covalent hydrogels

Agricultural Wastes

Practical applicability

Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) can produced at low cost from Malaysian agricultural waste

High cationic exchange allows better retention of cations such as potassium

Degrades more slowly than cellulose over several months

Clean water

1. The fertilizer granule contains the nutrients needed for optimal plant growth.

2. Biodegradable superabsorbent polymer is swollen by water in soil to release nutrients.

3. Nutrients from fertilizer dissolve in water and diffuse to the soil in control.

Fertilizer Delivery

Reduce the need

of irrigation.Reduce leaching.Reduce water pollution.Biodegrade over time.

CMC-based biosorbents are able to absorb excess plant nutrients and heavy metals to facilitate their removal

Dirty water

Hydrogels

Clean water

Swollen hydrogels with ions absorbed

Biosorption

Ionic hydrogels are very easy to produce and have been applied in slow release fertilizers

However, they tend to be less stable to pH changes

Ionic CMC hydrogels

Covalent CMC hydrogels

Covalent hydrogels tend to be more stable for longer periods of time

This makes them better suited for bioremediation and encapsulation of fertilizers

Covalent cross-linking reagents e.g. adipic acid dihydrazide are prohibitively expensive for large-scale production

Electron beam crosslinking

Recently obtained access to the electron beam processing facility of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency

Electron beam irradiation triggers free radical reaction that crosslinks without expensive reagents

This would improve the commercial viability of covalent hydrogels

Sustainable use of resources

Using agricultural waste reduces the environmental and economic costs of disposal

Reduced leaching, reduces fertilizer use and improves water quality

This increases the amount of treatable water in rivers and reservoirs

Layang River Water Pump

Only certain stretches of the Layang river can be converted into drinking water

Oil palm estate overlooking the river can degrade water quality

Sustainability

Economic: Malaysian agriculture comprises 9.3% of the GDP and provides for 11% of its workforce

Technological: Waste is used to produce biosorbents and fertilizer delivery systems to improve water quality

Social: Improved water quality and availability benefits local industries and communities

Environmental: Malaysia has high rain fail, leaching of fertilizers is an important concern

Deployment in Putrajaya Capital

Water quality of rivers near urban and industrial areas is deteriorating

Putrajaya lake gives off an unpleasant odour

Initial deployment of our technology at Putrajaya Lake would greatly benefit 67,964 residents

Artificial wetland built to maintain water quality

The wetland is nearing its 20-year life-span

There is an oil palm estate right next to the wetland

Putrajaya Wetlands

Eutrophication Hotspots

Multiple hotspots have been identified

Attributed to run-off from recreational gardens and sewage

Science to

ActionOur industrial partner is Chitose Bio Evolution Pte. Ltd., a Japanese firm

Their business model is based on fully utilising biomass to minimize wastage and develop high-value products

They have a bioremediation facility within an oil palm estate in East Malaysia that would allow us to test our technology in the field

Future Plans

Synthesis of CMC

Crosslinking of CMC

Absorption & Release Kinetics

Large Scale Synthesis & Crosslinking

Field studies

CMC-polyacrylamide

composites

Recycling absorbed

ions

Social economic

studies

Beyond MalaysiaBetter water quality benefits

a wide range of stakeholders

This technology can be applied in a wide range of settings within and outside Malaysia

CMC encapsulated fertiliser is simple enough to be applied in public parks and household gardens.

Thank you for your attention

One of Malaysia’s first private universities, with more than 10,000 students from 80 different countries

CMC project team