MODELING OF THE POLYMER DROP PROCESS IN THE COATING TECHNOLOGY BY EXPERIMENT FOR PRODUCTION OF SMART UREA FERTILIZER

Abstract

The drop process has an important role in many production technologies, such as: coating particles, granulation, cooling, evaporation, extraction and painting technology. The experimental mathematical model of the drop process is the basis for calculating, adjusting and controlling the droplet formation parameters, thereby assessing the quality and properties of the product obtained. The objective of the study is to determine a mathematical model of the polymer drop process in the coating technology by experiment for production of coated urea fertilizer. The polymer solution was synthesized from phosphated distarch phosphate (PDSP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium tetraborate (Na₂ B₄ O₇ ), biodegradable and environmentally friendly, used as coating material for production of smart urea fertilizers (SUFs). Shape and size of droplet and height, velocity of drop were determined by using highspeed camera 500 frame per second (fps) and image processing toolbox of the MATLAB® software. The mathematical equations and parameters of model drop process was also built up by dimensional analysis method and the least squares regression line.