The Effect of Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) Concentration and Crosslinking Agent on the Slow-Release Urea Fertilizer Ika Atsari Dewi*, Ardhina Sevi Agselina, Beauty Suestining Dyah Dewanti, Ezra Ambarita, Dewi Zharfaningsih,
Department of Agroindustrial Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, Malang 65145, Indonesia
*ikaatsaridewi[at]ub.ac.id
Abstract
Nitrogen is one of the macronutrients for growth and development of plants. Fulfillment of nitrogen needs in plants can be assisted by applying urea fertilizer. The characteristic of urea fertilizer is easily dissolve in water and evaporate, so the absorption of urea by plants is not optimal. The production of slow-release urea fertilizer is one of the solutions to optimize nitrogen absorption by slowly releasing urea into the environment. Fertilizer made from sodium alginate and crosslinking agents in the form of Ca2+ and Zn2+ ions has an egg-box structure that can slow down the release of urea into the environment. The addition of MCC, which is insoluble in water to slow-release urea fertilizer can extend the release time of urea. In this study, slow-release urea fertilizer was prepared with various concentrations of MCC (0.5% (w/w), 1.5% (w/w), and 2.5% (w/w)) and various types of crosslinking agents (CaCl2 5% (w/v)- CaCl2 5% (w/v) and ZnCl2 5% (w/v)- ZnCl2 5% (w/v)). The results show that the addition of MCC affect the characteristic of SRF and capable to prolong the release time of urea than SRF without MCC.
