PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Low-quality cotton fibers, often overlooked as low-value materials, constitute a marginalized waste stream in the cotton industry. This study endeavored to repurpose these fibers into mulch gel films, specifically exploring their efficacy in covering moisture-controlled soil beds. Through a meticulously designed series of processing methods, cellulose/glycerol film was successfully fabricated by regenerating cellulose hydrogels in N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride solutions, followed by plasticization in glycerol/water solutions and hot pressing. The film was then employed to cover soil beds for a duration of up to 252 days, followed by soil burial assessments. Despite expectations of degradation, the film maintained structural integrity throughout the soil covering period but underwent complete biodegradation after 80 days of soil burial, thereby completing a closed carbon cycle. Intriguingly, both tensile strength and modulus exhibited no diminishment but instead increased after soil covering, contrary to expectations given the usual role of degradation. Mechanistic insights revealed that the removal of glycerol contributed to the mechanical enhancement, while microbial activity predominately decomposed the amorphous regions in soil covering and targeted the crystalline portions in soil burial, elucidating the main biodegradation mechanisms. In summary, this study presents, for the first time, the potential of upcycling low-quality cotton fibers into high-value mulch gel films for agricultural practices within a closed carbon cycle.
摘要：
劣质棉纤维，经常被忽视的低价值材料，构成棉花行业中边缘化的废物流。这项研究努力将这些纤维重新用于覆盖凝胶膜，特别探索它们在覆盖湿度控制的土壤层方面的功效。通过精心设计的一系列加工方法，通过在N中再生纤维素水凝胶成功制备了纤维素/甘油膜，N-二甲基乙酰胺/氯化锂溶液，然后在甘油/水溶液中进行塑化和热压。然后使用薄膜覆盖土壤床，持续时间长达252天，其次是土壤埋葬评估。尽管人们期望退化，薄膜在整个土壤覆盖期间保持结构完整性，但在土壤掩埋80天后经历了完全的生物降解，从而完成一个封闭的碳循环。有趣的是，抗拉强度和模量均未表现出减少，而是在土壤覆盖后增加，与预期相反，考虑到退化的通常作用。力学见解表明，甘油的去除有助于机械增强，虽然微生物活动主要分解了土壤覆盖中的无定形区域，并瞄准了土壤埋藏中的结晶部分，阐明了主要的生物降解机制。总之,这项研究提出，第一次,在封闭的碳循环中，将低品质的棉纤维向上循环为高价值的覆盖凝胶膜，用于农业实践。
