Pemuatan dan Pelepasan Pupuk Urea pada Hidrogel Asam Akrilat-Akrilamida Berbasis Onggok Singkong

Abstract

Proses pemupukan pada tanaman yang kurang efektif akan menurunkan produktivitas tanaman. Pemuatan pupuk pada hidrogel dapat dijadikan sebagai salah satu solusi untuk mengontrol proses pemupukan yang lebih efektif. Hidrogel disintesis dari onggok dan polimer asam akrilat akrilamida menggunakan metode ikat silang kimia. Selanjutnya, hidrogel dimuati urea dengan variasi konsentrasi 0%, 3%, 5%, 7%, dan 9% menggunakan metode teknik dua langkah. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penambahan urea pada proses perendaman hidrogel mampu meningkatkan kemampuan swelling dan kekerasan hidrogel, serta menurunkan nilai kelengketan hidrogel. Selain itu, peningkatan konsentrasi urea juga berpengaruh pada proses pelepasan pupuk. Semakin tinggi konsentrasi urea, semakin rendah persentase pelepasan pupuk yang diperoleh. Proses pelepasan urea pada penelitian ini cenderung terjadi secara cepat pada awal pengukuran dan lepas secara perlahan setelah 24 jam pengukuran.

The fertilization process on plants that are less effective will reduce plant productivity. The addition of fertilizer to the hydrogel can be used as a solution to control the fertilization process more effectively. The hydrogel was synthesized from cassava and acrylic acid polymer acrylamide using the chemical crosslinking method. Furthermore, the hydrogel was loaded urea with variations in concentrations of 0%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9%. The loading of urea fertilizer on the hydrogel was carried out by a two-step technique. The results showed that the addition of urea in the hydrogel immersion process was able to increase the swelling ability and hydrogel hardness, as well as reduce the hydrogel adhesiveness value. In addition, the increase in urea concentration also affects the process of releasing fertilizer. The higher the concentration of urea fertilizer, the lower the percentage of fertilizer released. The process of releasing urea in this study tends to occur quickly at the beginning of the measurement and slowly after 24 hours of measurement.