农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2020-08-06DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2020.93013
T. Goebel, K. McInnes, S. Senseman, R. Lascano, A. Cullen, T. Fuhrer, Sarah Pickle, Netochi O. Adeolokun, Todd A. Davis
{"title":"Addition of Thiourea Host Monomer to Polymer Flocculants to Improve Selectivity of Phosphate Sorption","authors":"T. Goebel, K. McInnes, S. Senseman, R. Lascano, A. Cullen, T. Fuhrer, Sarah Pickle, Netochi O. Adeolokun, Todd A. Davis","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.93013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.93013","url":null,"abstract":"Inorganic phosphate is a common nutrient that is applied as a fertilizer \u0000to both agricultural fields as well as urban settings such as private yards, \u0000public parks and other urban landscaping. While phosphate typically binds \u0000tightly to soil, movement of phosphate off of application sites can occur \u0000through soil erosion. The soil and its bound phosphate can then end up in \u0000surface waters such as rivers and lakes. Phosphate found in surface water \u0000bodies exists both as bound to the suspended clay as well as that free in \u0000solution. Elevated phosphate concentration in surface waters can lead to algal \u0000blooms and eutrophication. While the phosphate bound to clay in suspension in \u0000surface water bodies can be removed by commercially available polymer \u0000flocculants, the phosphate that is free in solution is more challenging as it \u0000is usually found in low concentrations and other anionic salts are generally \u0000present in higher concentrations. To remove phosphate from contaminated water \u0000systems, where other anions exist at higher concentrations, it is favorable to \u0000have a method of removal that is selective for phosphate. As a proof of \u0000principle, thiourea derivatized polymer flocculants were examined for the \u0000selective removal of phosphate in the presence of competing anions. The polymer \u0000flocculants exhibited selectivity for phosphate through hydrogen bonding and \u0000were effective at removing up to 43% of phosphate from simulated wastewater. \u0000Computational studies and 1H NMR were used to investigate the \u0000selectivity of the thiourea monomer for phosphate over competing anions such as \u0000chloride and sulfate.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46824064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2020-04-09DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2020.92007
Eliezel Habineza, J. N. Nsengiyumva, Eric Ruzigamanzi, Martin Vincent Nsanzumukiza
{"title":"Profitability Analysis of Small Scale Irrigation Technology Adoption to Farmers in Nasho Sector, Rwanda","authors":"Eliezel Habineza, J. N. Nsengiyumva, Eric Ruzigamanzi, Martin Vincent Nsanzumukiza","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.92007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.92007","url":null,"abstract":"The \u0000study aims to assess the effect of small scale irrigation adoption to farmers \u0000in Nasho sector, Kirehe District in Rwanda. The average yield was 12,309.73 \u0000Kg/2.62 ha or 4698.73 Kg/ha for adopters with the mean difference between \u0000adopters and non adopters ranged from 2819.63 Kg to 4766.59 Kg per unit area of \u0000production. For food security status, the average mean quantity of maize \u0000consumed at home level was 615.54 Kg with the mean difference ranged from \u0000377.29 Kg to 474.68 Kg. For market participation, the average treatment effect \u0000of the treated (ATT) of quantity of maize sold was 11,694.24 Kg while the mean difference \u0000ranged from 7165.98 Kg to 9015.60 Kg. The Average Treatment Effect of the \u0000Treated market price was 213 Frws/Kg while the mean difference ranged from \u000044.51 Frws/Kg to 48.3053 Frws/Kg. The Average Treatment Effect of the Treated \u0000of farmer’s revenues for the users was 938,772 Frws/ha, however, the mean \u0000difference between adopters and non adopters ranged from 1,732,942 Frws to \u00002,007,039 Frws. The Average Treatment Effect of the Treated of farmer’s net \u0000farm income was 1,066,393 Frws while mean difference between users and non \u0000users ranged from 803,967 Frws to 854,141 Frws. For profitability analysis, the \u0000cost benefit ratio (CBR) was taken into account. The total benefit per unit \u0000area was 2,434,509 Frws and total average mean cost of 1,382,313 Frws and CBR = \u00001.761 > 1. The findings of this study will help the policy makers for deeper \u0000sector planning and also, it will facilitate other stakeholders to invest in \u0000irrigation technology to improve the livelihoods of Rwandan farmers and other \u0000surroundings.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":"9 1","pages":"73-84"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48080116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2020-04-09DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2020.92004
Pablo Broca Quevedo, M. B. Pensado, R. Romero, A. R. Martínez
{"title":"Optical Determination of the Effects by Thermal Treatment (TT) in Honey of Apis mellifera Bees","authors":"Pablo Broca Quevedo, M. B. Pensado, R. Romero, A. R. Martínez","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.92004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.92004","url":null,"abstract":"Spectroscopy in the UV-Vis and NIR ranges of light provides great convenience for the characterization and evaluation of the characteristics and optical modifications that occur during life, the processes for the preparation of some food in order to modify their characteristics or eliminate Micro-organisms that can affect their quality and shelf life, work is carried out at elevated temperatures, even above 100°C. The study has made it possible to identify changes in the Absorbance, Transmittance and Optical Intensity of Apis mellifera honey from four different botanical sources and States of the Mexican Republic: Citrus (Citrus) from the state of Veracruz, Mangle (Rizophora mangle) of the Pacific zone of the state of Sinaloa, Polyfloralis of the state of Morelos and Polyfloralis of the state of Tabasco.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":"9 1","pages":"37-47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44422058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2020-04-09DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2020.92005
E. Tunç, M. Tekin, M. Demir, Awet Tekeste Tsegai
{"title":"Halophytic Species in Natural Areas Close to Agricultural Areas of Araban (Gaziantep, Turkey)","authors":"E. Tunç, M. Tekin, M. Demir, Awet Tekeste Tsegai","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.92005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.92005","url":null,"abstract":"As a result of the global warming caused by increasing industrialization, changes in vegetation have occurred on the earth. Halophyte species have been observed in many areas including native vegetation and agricultural land due to increased drought and warming and also over irrigation during formation of secondary vegetation. Soil samples were taken seasonally from selected three areas (Timurlenk, Karapinar and Fakili) in Araban (Gaziantep Turkey) and the pH, electrical conductivity (EC), lime (CaCO3), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sodium (Na) and calcium (Ca) analyzes were performed in this samples. In addition, the presence of taxa known to be halophytes in these areas has been investigated. As a result of the analyses, it was found that there was no seasonal difference (p > 0.05), but there were significant differences between lime (CaCO3), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) among the localities (p Alhagi pseudoalhagi M. Bieb. was found in Timurlenk and Karapinar, Salsola kali spp. ruthenica Iljin was found in Timurlenk and Juncus inflexus L. was found in Timurlenk, Karapinar, Fakili. Although the soil is not salty, the presence of three different taxa that can tolerate the salt in three localities shows that the amount of salt in the soil may increase in time. The information presented in this study contributes to the salinization of soils and their effects on agriculture in the region.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48878060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2020-04-09DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2020.92006
Hamidatu S. Darimani, R. Ito
{"title":"Health Risk Assessment of Compost-Amended Soils","authors":"Hamidatu S. Darimani, R. Ito","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.92006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.92006","url":null,"abstract":"Application of improperly treated compost from composting toilet is one \u0000of the causes of bacterial contamination in the field, crops, food and water. \u0000The study characterized the die-off represented by kinetic inactivation rate \u0000coefficient, k (h-1) \u0000of Enterococcus in clay and sandy loam soils, determined the effect of \u0000temperature, compost-to-soil ratio and soil type on the inactivation rates of Enterococcus and evaluated the health risk associated with the amendment of compost from \u0000composting toilet in real conditions using local climatic data. The \u0000soils were amended with compost to soil ratios of 1:10, 1:25, 1:50 and 1:100 \u0000held at different temperatures (30°C, 40°C and 50°C). Inactivation of Enterococcus (pathogenic bacteria) in the soil with high temperature under different \u0000compost application rates was tried in the laboratory test and the Quantitative \u0000Microbial Health Risk evaluated. The study results indicated the inactivation \u0000rates of Enterococcus in clay soils as 0.015 - 0.027 h-1, \u00000.246 - 0.322 h-1, 0.397 - 0.571 h-1 whilst sandy loam \u0000soils recorded 0.056 - 0.130 h-1, 0.348 - 0.447 h-1 and \u00000.475 - 0.630 h-1 for 30°C, 40°C and 50°C respectively. Inactivation \u0000rates of Enterococcus in soils amended with compost from the composting \u0000toilet depended on temperature and soil type but not on the compost-to-soil \u0000ratios and compost from the composting toilet amended to the soils is safe for \u0000use in six (6) days.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47378752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2020-02-25DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2020.91003
Hamidatu S. Darimani, D. Pant
{"title":"Biogas Production from Co-Digestion of Grass with Food Waste","authors":"Hamidatu S. Darimani, D. Pant","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.91003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.91003","url":null,"abstract":"Management of grasslands in Ghana has become so poor that most rural communities result in bushfires that cause a lot of environmental challenges. Grass could be used for biogas generation. This study investigated the effect of grass and food waste co-digestion on the biogas yield and clarified how the addition of grass enhances the AD performance. Grass (GR) mixed with the co-substrate food waste (FW) was then evaluated under anaerobic conditions for the production of biogas (methane). Five laboratory-scale reactors, R1 (100% FW, 0% GR), R2 (75% FW, 25% GR), R3 (50% FW, 50% GR), R4 (25% FW, 75% GR) and R5 (0% FW, 100% GR) were set up with different proportions of grass and food waste which had 8% total solid concentration. Digestion was carried out for twenty (20) days at room temperature, 35°C ± 2°C. The biogas yield in the R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 was 805, 840, 485, 243 and 418 mL respectively. Food waste only produced 805 mL and grass only produced 418 mL of biogas. Food waste only produced 50% more biogas than grass. However, co-digestion at 75% FW, 25% resulted in 6% more biogas than food waste only.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":"9 1","pages":"27-36"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48459084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2020-01-17DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2020.91002
E. Ntambi, J. Tenywa, M. Ntale
{"title":"Sorption and Desorption Phenomena of Urban Biowaste-Based Heavy Metals by a Ferralsol","authors":"E. Ntambi, J. Tenywa, M. Ntale","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.91002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.91002","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The objective of this study was to examine the adsorption-de- sorption \u0000phenomena of heavy metals in an agricultural Ferralsol treated with sewage \u0000solid waste at rates usually applied for soil fertility management. Methods: The study was carried out under laboratory conditions, using a Ferralsol \u0000sourced from Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute, Kabanyolo \u0000(MUARIK). Soil and sewage solid waste were analysed for pH, organic matter, \u0000cation exchange capacity and heavy metals (copper, zinc, chromium and lead). \u0000Soil was treated with sewage solid waste at input rates of 0, 50, 100, and 150 \u0000g per pot (equivalent to 0, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 metric tonesm and supplemented with phosphorus. The phosphorus was applied at \u0000rates of 0, 0.795, 1.591 and 2.385 g per pot (equivalent to 0, 25, 50 and 75 \u0000kg·ha﹣1, respectively). Batch adsorption was used to study the \u0000sorption-desorption of heavy metals on the treated soil and the Langmuir and \u0000Freundlich models were used to analyse the data. Results: Adsorption and \u0000desorption isotherms fitted better to Freundlich equation than Langmuir model. \u0000Chromium was the most sorbed and retained metal; while lead was the least \u0000retained overall. The desorption process was virtually irreversible, \u0000considering the low amounts of the metals desorbed. Chromium fitted relatively \u0000better to both models than the copper, zinc and lead. All the four metals were \u0000less desorbed at high metal concentrations. Conclusion: The four metals \u0000would not be available at high metal concentrations especially when the \u0000application rate used is ≥ 5.0 tones·ha﹣1 of the sewage solid waste. Thus, the metals \u0000would not be available for plant uptake and the chance to contaminate \u0000groundwater is very limited especially for chromium.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45333947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2020.93009
Takamitsu Kai, H. Ikeura, Ariaki Ayanokoji, M. Tamaki
{"title":"Effects of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid (ALA) on Zinnia hybrida Growth and Phytoremediation Effects in Oil-Contaminated Soil","authors":"Takamitsu Kai, H. Ikeura, Ariaki Ayanokoji, M. Tamaki","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.93009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.93009","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, we compared plant height, weight, soil TPH concentration, and soil DHA level after 18 weeks of Zennia hybrida cultivation with four different concentrations of 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-based liquid fertilizer: 1500-fold, 5000-fold, and 8000-fold dilutions, along with a non-treatment control of diluted ALA. The plants of ALA-treated were significantly taller than the non-treatment control. The plants of ALA-treated plants were higher in shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, and root dry weight than the non-treatment control. The plot of ALA-based liquid fertilizer with the 5000-fold dilution was significantly highest in shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, and root dry weight. ALA-treated plants were lower in the soil Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration than the non-treatment control. The plot of ALA-based liquid fertilizer with the 5000-fold was significantly lowest in the TPH concentration. In addition, ALA-treated plants were higher in the soil dehydrogenase activity (DHA) than the non-treatment control. The plot of ALA-based liquid fertilizer with the 5000-fold was significantly highest in the TPH concentration. This study indicated that ALA-applied zinnia-grown oil-contaminated soil is more effective than not. The remediation in oil-contaminated soil with ALA-based liquid fertilizer is more effective than the non-treatment control; furthermore, ALA application with 5000-fold dilution was most suitable in oil-contaminated soil among other plots.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":"9 1","pages":"97-106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70751125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2020.91001
M. Mozaffari, Hannah Hays
{"title":"Effect of a Newly Developed Pelleted Papermill Biosolids on Crop and Soil","authors":"M. Mozaffari, Hannah Hays","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.91001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.91001","url":null,"abstract":"The US is one of the leading global producers of paper industry with approximately 24 percent of the share of world paper supply. Despite diversity of the feedstock and production methods, C rich papermill biosolids (PB) is a major byproduct of paper production process. Landfilling is the predominant method of PB management. Increasing landfill cost and its potential environmental consequences have incentivized research and development efforts to find beneficial uses for PB. This sensible option reduces the overall paper production costs and increases environmental sustainability. Pelletization of PB increases its marketability by reducing transportation costs. This greenhouse study was conducted to gain a better understanding of the properties and effects of a recently developed pelletized papermill biosolids (PPB) on bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and soil. Urea and PPB were each applied at four total N rates equivalent to 45, 90, 135, and 180 kg N ha﹣1 and an additional control treatments of 0 N was included. The total C and N concentration in this PPB were 379 and 14 g·kg﹣1 respectively and its C:N ratio was 27.2. Nitrogen treatment significantly (P ≤ 0.0839) influenced pepper height, dry biomass, N concentration, and N uptake. Plant height ranged from 31.2 to 44.4 cm; 135 kg·ha﹣1 urea-N and PPB-N produced the tallest and shortest plants respectively. Dry biomass of the pepper that did not receive any N, those treated with urea-N or PPB-N were 5.3, 5.7 - 7.5, and 5.9 - 6.5 g·plant﹣1 respectively. Nitrogen concentration in control treatment (0 N) was 36.4 g·kg﹣1 and that of pepper treated with any N ranged from 32.0 - 40.7 g·kg﹣1. There was an inverse numerical, albeit not always statistically significant, relationship between PPB rate and plant N concentration. Generally, pepper treated with urea removed significantly more N from soil than control or PPB treated pepper. Nitrogen uptake by plants that did not receive any N and those amended with urea or PPB were 194, 229 - 270, and 155 - 164 mg·plant﹣1 respectively. Pepper N uptake and concentration data indicate that higher rates of PPB resulted in immobilization of native soil and PPB-N due to its wide C:N ratio (27.2). Nitrogen treatment significantly influenced soil pH, SOM, total C and N (P > 0.1). Soil organic matter and total C in post-harvest soil samples were 17.4 - 19.4 and 21.9 - 35.0 g·kg﹣1 respectively. The observed increase in soil total C and SOM highlights the potential beneficial use of PPB as a means to improve soil health and sequester C in soil. Narrowing the C:N ratio of PPB, by coapplication or incorporation of the mineral N into the pellets will make it an attractive organic N fertilizer.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":"9 1","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70751024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
农业化学和环境(英文)Pub Date : 2019-11-28DOI: 10.4236/jacen.2019.8418
M. Ahimbisibwe, N. Banadda, J. Seay, B. Nabuuma, Evans Atwijukire, Enoch Wembabazi, Ephraim Nuwamanya
{"title":"Influence of Weather and Purity of Plasticizer on Degradation of Cassava Starch Bioplastics in Natural Environmental Conditions","authors":"M. Ahimbisibwe, N. Banadda, J. Seay, B. Nabuuma, Evans Atwijukire, Enoch Wembabazi, Ephraim Nuwamanya","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2019.8418","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2019.8418","url":null,"abstract":"The threat posed by plastics to the environment has prompted the \u0000development of bioplastics. Starch plasticized by glycerol is a key renewable \u0000resource in the production of high-quality bioplastics. Previous studies have \u0000availed information on the mechanical quality of starch-based bioplastics \u0000however there is limited information about their degradation pattern in the \u0000natural environment which this research presents. Bioplastics were buried in \u0000holes in loam sandy soil and weekly photographic data and weight were collected \u0000to reveal the effect of degradation. Weather parameters of rainfall, temperature, \u0000relative humidity, sunshine intensity and sunshine hours were recorded to \u0000establish influence of weather on degradation. A control set up in the \u0000laboratory was used to compare the results. Over time the tests revealed that \u0000as the hydrophilic enzymes break down the bioplastic, its weight initially \u0000increases (up to 87%) due to absorption of moisture and after saturation, the \u0000bioplastic is disintegrated which initiates decomposition and the bioplastic \u0000weight is steadily reduced. Degradation was further enhanced by invasion of \u0000soil organisms like worms, termites among other soil microbes. Rainfall (r = 0.857) increased the moisture in the soil which \u0000initially increased the weight of the bioplastic up to a point when the \u0000hydrophilic enzymes set into breakdown the bioplastic then the weight started \u0000to drop. This was the same case for relative humidity (r = ﹣0.04) however; the sunlight intensity (r = 515) and hours of illumination indirectly affect the \u0000process by influencing microbial activity. An increase in the sunshine \u0000intensity increased the activity of soil organisms up to a point beyond which \u0000increased exposure caused the organisms to burrow deeper in the soil. Increase \u0000in microbial activity increased the rate of degradation of the buried \u0000bioplastics which took five to ten weeks to fully decompose (98.3%). The \u0000reduced time of degradation means that starch-based bioplastics have a high \u0000potential as sustainable substitute for petroleum-based plastics.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42872382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}