Macrostructure Forming Surfactants for Spray Drift Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drift control agents for agricultural pesticide solutions, such as high molecular weight polymers and crop oil concentrates, face issues like mechanical degradation, slow dissolution, gelling, and reduced efficacy with herbicides, leading to inefficient spray patterns and increased drift of fine droplets, which can result in wasted pesticide and environmental contamination.
Innovation Solution
A surfactant composition forming a dispersion system with macrostructures in an aqueous environment, utilizing nitrogen-containing surfactants like di-alkyl di-methyl quaternary surfactants, which creates a dispersed phase with particles between 1-100 µm and 0.01-1 wt% concentration, reducing the volume of fine droplets less than 150 µm by at least 20% during spraying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high molecular weight water soluble polymers are used as drift control agents, then spray drift control is improved, but the polymers undergo mechanical degradation and lose utility irreversibly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces high molecular weight polymers with low molecular weight surfactants (C12-C22 alkyl chains) that form micellar structures. These surfactant molecules are much smaller and more stable against mechanical degradation, effectively serving as 'short-living' but renewable drift control agents that can be easily replenished in the spray solution without irreversible degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention fundamentally changes the molecular weight parameter from high (polymers) to low (surfactants), and relies on the self-assembly of these low molecular weight molecules into micellar structures with hydrophobic cores and hydrophilic exteriors. This parameter change transforms the mechanism from polymer chain entanglement to micelle formation, providing drift control without mechanical degradation.
2Reliability
If high molecular weight polymers are used as drift control agents, then spray drift control is improved, but it takes a long time for them to evenly disperse or dissolve in aqueous liquids
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the drift control function into individual surfactant molecules rather than using large polymer chains. These small molecular units disperse rapidly in water and then self-assemble into micelles, eliminating the long dissolution time required by high molecular weight polymers while maintaining the drift control effect.
3Reliability
If high molecular weight polymers are used as drift control agents, then spray drift control is improved, but they are difficult to build into a high salt premix pesticide formulation without gelling or phase separation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the molecular weight parameter from high to low, which fundamentally alters the interaction with salts. Low molecular weight surfactants remain soluble and form stable micelles in high salt environments, whereas high molecular weight polymers undergo gelling or phase separation due to their large size and complex chain structures that are sensitive to ionic strength changes.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If polymers are used as drift control agents, then fine droplet drift is reduced, but there are a lot of coarse droplets which tend to bounce off the plant leave and be wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the molecular weight parameter of the drift control agent, which alters the spray droplet size distribution. The low molecular weight surfactants produce a more balanced droplet spectrum with fewer extreme coarse droplets compared to high molecular weight polymers, reducing bounce-off losses while maintaining drift control through micelle formation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The surfactant composition effectively reduces spray drift by creating a stable, hazy dispersion that maintains anti-drift properties, ensuring that the pesticide reaches the target with improved efficacy and reduced environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
forming a dispersion system with macrostructures in aqueous environment resulting in reduced number of fine droplets in mist during spraying
Implementation Method 2
Macrostructure forming surfactants useful as spray drift control agents in pesticide spraying applications
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an aqueous agrochemical spray solution containing an agrochemical active and a surfactant. The spray solution comprises a dispersed phase comprising dispersed particles which have an average particle size between 1 to 100 microns and the concentration of said dispersed particles is from about 0.001 to 5 wt%. The aqueous agrochemical spray solution is capable of reducing the volume of the fine droplets in mist whose size is less than 150 microns during spraying by at least 20% compared to the same aqueous spray solution without the presence of the surfactant. The present invention also relates to a method of reducing the spray drift of an aqueous agrochemical spray solution upon spraying with a spraying apparatus. The method includes adding the surfactant to the aqueous agrochemical spray solution in an amount effective to form the dispersed phase.