Ginger extracted oil as an alternative for the emulsion to prepare chitosan microspheres for urea controlled release fertilizer

The study aimed to evaluate the potential of ginger essential oil in urea loading efficacy to prepare the controlled release chitosan microspheres. The ginger oil was extracted by applying the Clevenger apparatus for hydro-distillation, and the chemical composition was characterized by using FT-IR. The chitosan microspheres and urea loaded were formulated through modified emulsification and followed cross-linking procedure. Response surface test was used to evaluate various factors and levels related to preparation of microspheres. The nitrogen content, yield were observed in the present study. Furthermore, SEM and FT-IR were applied to characterize the microspheres. The results showed that the yield of the ginger oil was 6.0% and citral was observed as the most enriched compound, 89.05% in oil. Response surface analysis showed that the optimum preparation conditions were as follows: 2.094% of Span-80, 2.302% of acetic acid, and the crosslinking agent ratio of formaldehyde to glutaraldehyde was 1:8.148. Under these conditions, the theoretical value of nitrogen content of urea-loaded chitosan microspheres was 4.683%. The FT-IR results proved the authenticity of ginger oil, chitosan microspheres, and urea-loaded microspheres. The morphology of the microspheres was better in lower oil concentrations. The release test showed urea diffused uniformly in the microspheres after 48 hours. It is concluded that controlled release fertilizers can be formulated using ginger oil.