Abstract
One of the most important problems of the fertilizer industry is that fertilizers show caking tendency during transportation and storage. Caking occurs as a result of interaction at the contact points formed between solid fertilizer particles. These interactions, also called contact mechanisms, are activated by a number of properties that fertilizers have and by environmental conditions. Prevention of caking mechanism is a substantial research subject that directly affects the quality and financial value of the final product and ensures its applicability. Fertilizer in good quality can provide ease in agricultural applications, and directly affect plant nutrition and crop productivity. At this point, there are various promoter practices for obtaining the free-flowing property in fertilizers that can be maintained or suggested during or after production, both in industry and in R&D studies. In order to develop new process control points in the industry, it is important to understand the factors that cause caking and the mechanism of physicochemical interactions that progress depending on these factors. In addition, it is essential to improve the storage conditions of the fertilizer, as well as to maintain its quality until end-use. This paper focuses on the caking behavior of fertilizers in detail, giving brief information about the prevention of caking and various types of anticaking agents.
Highlights
The rising demand for food due to increasing world population requires significant improvements in agriculture and its related industries.[1]
The present review focuses on the formation of crystalline bridges, and the caking mechanism can be mainly explained in four stages: I) moisture sorption and diffusion, II) capillary condensation or
The storage and handling of bulk materials manufactured in various industries, such as chemical, food, pharmaceutical, detergent, and fertilizer, are usually related to physical problems such as caking, dusting, and degrading
Summary
The rising demand for food due to increasing world population requires significant improvements in agriculture and its related industries.[1]. Over the years, some traditional methods have been specified for measuring and evaluating the physical properties of fertilizers.[11,18] Measurement methods and control parameters affecting the caking have developed a number of studies to overcome the caking problem. While the methods such as drying, cooling, dust minimization, and moisture-resistant packaging are being applied in the attempt to reduce caking, this issue still requires improvement.[12,19]. Information is given on the improvement of fertilizers and the measures to be taken against the phenomenon of caking due to the nature of the solid particles and the commercial products that can be applied
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