3D打印多功能控释块肥的材料筛选与配方库建立

China, as a large agricultural country, is relatively behind in fertilizer technology and their efficiency. This has brought environmental issues due to excessive usage of fertilizer. The appeaing and commercialization of 3D print technology create an opportunity to customize fertilizer design and manufacturing, helping to reduce fertilizer waste. The scope of 3D print fertilizer is that the professionals can locate the suitable type and amount of fertilizers based on the local soil condition, environment and climate, based on which, a functionalized fertilizers can be produced locally. 3D print technology is quite advantageous in manufacturing be spoke products with complex multi-material internal structure. In a 3D printed fertilizer, different types of fertilizers can be included based on the target plant’s growing stage. Introducing different coating or barrel materials can help control the release of fertilizers, minimize waste. To the best of our knowledge, there is little research in 3D print fertilizer. The appearing of mobile low cost 3D printer has made the idea of locally manufacturing 3D printed functional fertilizer realistic. The main challenge now is how to develop a big formulation database to match such a production system. This database will provide the professional users quickly target the right material and produce the costmoized fertilizer timely.

中国作为农业生产大国，在肥料制造和施用技术上却相对落后，肥料利用率低，引发环境污染。随着3D打印技术的普及和低成本化，以及人们对于环境保护，资源可循环利用的日益关注，未来的肥料产品的一个重要趋势应是肥料的定制与精准投放，由专业的配方员根据当地的土壤，环境，气候情况，策划肥料的配比并现场定制生产。由于3D打印本身在进行复杂多材料结构制造上的优势，3D打印肥料模块可以在单个肥料产品中囊括多种植物生长过程中所需的养分，并搭建不同的包覆或隔层材料，对不同肥料不同时段的释放做出调控，从而提高肥效。现阶段3D打印控释肥料研究在世界上尚处于空白阶段，仍没有相关的研究报道。随着便携式3D打印机的出现，可以说在加工手段方面已能够实现肥料模块的现场定制。制约3D打印肥料模块实现的核心问题是相关配方的研发及数据库的搭建。一套完备的3D打印肥料材料配方库可以让专业使用者在实地调研后快速确定所需材料并现场打印。

肥料作为植物生长中不可或缺的营养物质，精准定量的使用不仅有利于植物生长，还有利于避免环境污染。目前大规模制备的缓控释肥，缓释曲线单一，尤其是在园林园艺中，植物品种较为复杂的情况下，单一的控释肥容易引起肥料的不恰当使用。通过引入3D打印技术，我们可以实现针对园林植物，尤其是名贵植物的控释肥定制，在更好的服务植被培育的同时也解决肥料浪费问题。本项目通过试验研究首次形成一套较为完整的肥料块定制化3D打印流程。借助流变性能检测及打印调试，顺利筛选出一套可适用于3D控释肥料打印的载体材料库。项目成功打印出分别以海藻酸钠和黄原胶为粘结剂、海泡石为次要填充剂的肥料块，块重0.416±0.015g，其中尿素含量最高达到了 154.81±5.46mg。通过添加海泡石、羟丙基甲基纤维素、喷涂氯化钙溶液等多种形式实现了3D打印肥料核心的控释曲线调节。项目最终以建立的材料库为基础，实现了不同肥料的组合打印。