CELLULOSE-BASED MULCH FILMS WITH NATURE-INSPIRED WATER-MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES FOR AGRICULTURAL APPLICATIONS

The main idea of the project relies on cellulose-based films featuring passive water management by microfluidic structures. The base material is biobased, biodegradable, and broadly available. Unfortunately, the mechanical properties (tear resistance, stretchability, penetration stability) are not sufficient for agricultural applications. Moreover, in horticulture, cellulose is prone to the formation of fungi and mould. These drawbacks will be overcome by combination of different cellulose types like plant-based cellulose, regenerated cellulose and bacterial cellulose. Additional coatings will be applied that partly immerse the film. Such coatings will be modified in view of its surface structure to achieve water management or avoid mold formation in horticulture. This will be done using imprint technologies in combination with coating technologies. Such nano- or micro-imprint technologies are known to be used for high-end applications like generating lab-on-chip devices for medical applications. A new approach will be investigated using electron beam curing technologies to validate such structuring method in low-cost applications like mulch films utilizing high-speed capabilities of e-beam curing processes. The water management will be nature-inspired mimic e.g. leaf structures. Using atmospheric plasma technologies hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of structures will be optimized by changes in surface chemistry. Tuning the surface properties will also have an important impact on biodegradability. The goal is to develop a toolbox that allows to use the novel mulch materials for a variety of applications in agriculture and horticulture and at different climate conditions. Development targets TRL 5 by validating at real field tests. Nevertheless, all different technological building blocks will be scaleable to roll-to-roll production, ensuring high productivity and allowing low-cost products in the future.