@Article{JRM.2017.634164,
AUTHOR = {Noé Navarro-Guajardo, Edgar Miguel García-Carrillo, Carlos Espinoza-González, Rubén Téllez-Zablah, Fátima Dávila-Hernández, Jorge Romero-García, Antonio Ledezma-Pérez},
TITLE = {Candelilla Wax as Natural Slow-Release Matrix for Fertilizers Encapsulated by Spray Chilling},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Renewable Materials},
VOLUME = {6},
YEAR = {2018},
NUMBER = {3},
PAGES = {226--236},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jrm/v6n3/28832},
ISSN = {2164-6341},
ABSTRACT = {Efforts to improve crop yields with efficient use of fertilizers are needed to guarantee global food security. Enhanced slow-release fertilizer systems (SRFs) encapsulated in biodegradable matrices are being developed to address this global concern. From a wide range of strategies for SRFs development, we explored a nature-inspired solution based on the plant cuticle model and its function as a membrane for water and nutrient transport control. Here, Candelilla wax, extracted from Candelilla wild plants (Euphorbia antisyphilitica), is studied as a renewable slow-release matrix for fertilizers encapsulated by a modified spray chilling process. From this process, microencapsulates containing 40 wt% of phosphorus fertilizer are obtained with distinctive sizes and chemical characteristics, presenting a slow-release behavior. Considering the abovementioned features, novel insights into fertilizer release mechanisms based on plant cuticle models are discussed.},
DOI = {10.7569/JRM.2017.634164}
}