Valida: A Biobased and Biodegradable Solution as Stabiliser and Film Former in Seeds’ Coatings

In 2019 the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) published their restriction proposal (ANNEX XV RESTRICTION REPORT, version number:1.2; date: 22 august 2019) in which seed treatment sector is listed as one of the industries that contributes to the use of microplastics in consumers or professional products. Current and future regulations aim to limit the use of microplastics in this business segment so to improve sustainability and good practice. 

Here is where Valida, Sappi’s fibrillated cellulose, comes in.

Valida is a 100% natural and sustainable material and certified by TUV Austria for soil and marine biodegradability, which renders Valida to be used as a bio-based stabiliser and film former in the seed coating application. 

In seed coating applications, Valida can deliver multiple benefits as an adjuvant and a co-binder, more in details:

● Valida is 100% biodegradable and a film former, a natural and microplastic free alternative to conventional synthetic solution 

● Improved stability and anti-settling of solid (e.g., fillers, pigments) 

● Film formation ability contributes to reduced dust-off

● Good flowability 

● No negative impact on seed germination 

To demonstrate the benefits of Valida fibrillated cellulose in such application, we added Valida to three types of commercially available seed treatments formulations as adjuvant and tested its benefits in improving dust off without compromising the flowability and germination of the seeds.

Three different types of seeds were tested: 

● Oilseed rape Thousand Grain Weight (TGW): 7.3 

● Wheat Thousand Grain Weight (TGW): 45.18 

● Corn Thousand Grain Weight (TGW): 328.7 

The study is intended to address 3 key questions below:

1) What are the benefits of Valida to conventional seed treatments on dust off? 

Valida has a positive performance in reducing dust-off in all the seeds and seed treatments when compared to the market standards. The impact on dust off also varies on the seed types. In oil seed rape, the addition of Valida resulted in three times reduction of dust-off value compared to reference.

Dust off test: 

Used technology: HEUBACH test 

Maximum Level (ESTA): 0,5g/700.000

2) Does Valida have a negative effect on seed quality? 

Valida has a positive effect on flowability and dry friability. 

Depending on the type of seeds and treatments, Valida can, in turn, keep the reference values or significantly improve both, flowability and dry friability, as demonstrated with oil seed rape.

Flowability test: 

Used technology: funnel test 

Used seed volume:300 grams

Dry friability test:

Used technology: Tablet friability tester

Number of rotations: 100 Rounds

Rotation speed: 25 rounds/minute

3) Does Valida have a negative effect on germination? 

The addition of Valida to conventional seed treatments was proven to have no negative impact on germinations compared to the reference with three different seeds (Oil Seed rape, Wheat and Corn). 

Blotter germination test conditions:

Climate: 20°C- 16 hr. light cycle

Media: Cellulose blotting paper

Irrigation: 30 ml

Irrigation solution: Tap water

Tray size: 15 x 21 cm stackable trays

Seeds/tray: 48

GMAX = germination percentage at final stage 

T50 = time to 50% germination

U25-75 = time between 25 and 75% germination (uniformity)

Conclusion

The results demonstrated that Sappi Valida is a natural and an effective alternative to microplastic ingredient in seeds’ treatments and horticultural formulations. Valida improves sustainability and biodegradability while efficiently improves the performance of agrochemicals and horticultural formulations. 

Inquiries are welcome to learn more details on how Valida helps industries with a sustainable microplastic free solution.

About Sappi 

Sappi is a global diversified wood fibre group, focused on dissolving pulp, paper-based solutions and high-quality functional biomaterials. Manufacturing operations can be found on 3 continents with sales in over 150 countries. Sappi is using its global leadership position and significant investment in research and development in coated graphics papers, speciality packaging grades, dissolving wood pulp and biorefinery processes to respond to the growing global demand for high quality functional biomaterials. If you would like to dive more into the Sappi world, please visit the Sappi website:  https://www.sappi.com/

About Valida

Valida is fibrillated cellulose manufactured by Sappi. The manufacturing process is designed to minimise energy use, thus lowering carbon footprint. Fibrillated Cellulose is a 100% natural, biodegradable and sustainable material produced by mechanically processing wood derived fibers to their smallest components, resulting in a dramatically increased surface area and enhanced mechanical, optical, chemical and physical properties. These properties make fibrillated cellulose suitable for a wide range of applications, such as cosmetics, coatings, agricultural, concrete and more. For more information, please visit our website: https://www.sappi.com/valida-home

This article was initially published in AgroPages' '2023 Seed Treatment Special' magazine.

If you would like to share your company's story. Please contact Christina Xie at christina@agropages.com

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