Experimental assessment of the utilization of a novel interpenetrating polymer network in different processes in the agricultural sector Saruchi , 1 Vaneet Kumar, 2 Dinesh Pathak, 3 Hemant Mittal, 4 Saeed M. Alhassan 4 1 Department of Biotechnology, CT Group of Institutions, Shahpur Campus, Jalandhar, Punjab, India 2 Department of Applied Sciences, CT Group of Institutions, Shahpur Campus, Jalandhar, Punjab, India 3 Department of Physics, Sri Sai University, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India 4 Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Sas Al Nakhal Campus, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Correspondence to: Saruchi (E-mail: suruchinitj15@gmail.com) ABSTRACT: We synthesized a biodegradable, controlled release formulation via the impregnation of methyl methacrylic acid onto the natural polysaccharide, gum tragacanth, and a polyacrlyic-based hydrogel with glutaraldehyde as crosslinker. The biodegradation behav- ior of the prepared interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) was investigated with soil burial and composting methods, and the biode- gradability stages were studied with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy analyses. The controlled release data of the calcium nitrate was analyzed in accordance with Fick’s power law, and the kinetics parameters of the release process were calculated. The values of the initial and lateral diffusion coefficients indicated a fast initial release rate of the fertilizers in compari- son to the lateral release. The synthesized IPN was degraded 91.62% within 11 weeks under composting methods, whereas it degraded 78.83% under the soil burial method. The results show that the synthesized IPN was ecofriendly and could be used for the controlled release of agrochemicals. The impact of the degraded IPN on the fertility of the soil was also studied. We concluded from the results obtained that the biodegraded IPN did not have any adverse effects on the soil fertility. Hence, this biodegradable IPN could be of great significance from a green revolution point of view. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47739. KEYWORDS: biocompatibility; degradation; swelling Received 1 December 2018; accepted 19 February 2019 DOI: 10.1002/app.47739 INTRODUCTION Hydrogels are hydrophilic, three-dimensional polymer networks that can absorb larger amounts of aqueous solution than their weight without changing their structure and are chemically inert. The other important characteristics of the hydrogel are that they respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, pH, and salt concentration. These fascinating characteristics of hydrogels have been exploited in different areas, such as drug delivery, agro- chemical release, solute separation, and adsorbing pads. 1,2 A worldwide difficulty with the conventional liberation of fertilizers is the use of large amounts of fertilizers more than genuinely required; this leads to soil and water pollution and also crop damage. 3–5 The controlled release of fertilizer is an area of interest for researchers, and in this sector, hydrogels can play significant role. The controlled liberation of fertilizer occurs via the chemical activation method; this helps to establish a preset release of fertilizer at a specific time. There are varieties of polymeric compounds that are largely used to control the liberation rate and increase the efficiency of fertilizers. The advantage of a controlled delivery system is that less fertilizer is used on the confined land for the pre- set time. The controlled liberation of the fertilizers from these poly- meric materials occurs through two methods. The first involves the dissolution or encapsulation of the fertilizers within an inter- penetrating polymer network (IPN) matrix followed by liberation by the diffusion process. In the second method, fertilizer molecules become the part of the backbone or are bound with it and are later liberated by the process of the biological or chemical break- down of the bond between the IPN and the fertilizer molecules. 6–9 One of the greatest menaces all over the world wide is the use of manmade polymers, as they are extensively used because of their excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical characteristics. There- fore, biodegradable materials can act as a solution in solid waste management. The use of natural-polysaccharide-based backbones for the preparation of polymeric devices is important from both environmental and technological viewpoints. The use of such materials as devices for agriculture purposes has the importance of increasing the porosity of the soil, improving the soil texture, and increasing the organic constituents of the soil, and there will also © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 47739 (1 of 10) J. APPL. POLYM. SCI. 2019, DOI: 10.1002/APP.47739