Oil palm empty fruit bunch ash as a potassium source in the synthesis of NPK fertilizer

Abstract

Some studies showed that ash from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch has relatively high potassium and other minerals and is commonly used directly for soil improver. In this work, we studied the production and characterization of ash from gasification of oil palm empty fruit bunch to produce NPK fertilizer. Oil Palm EFB ash produced from various gasification temperature were characterized by using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) to identify its composition. The fertilizer formula was developed by using EFB ash for potassium source, while nitrogen and phosphates are each obtained from Urea and Diammonium Phosphate (DAP). NPK fertilizer production was conducted through some processes, including formulation, mixing, granulation, and drying. The characterization of fertilizer and EFB ash was done using Scanning Microscope Electron/Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The fertilizer was also tested to the red onion plant compared to commercial NPK fertilizer through small scale field tests using polybags.