Fertilizer Manufacturing Research Articles

Utilization of PT. Hok Tong liquid waste rubber industry in making of liquid organic fertilizer with addition of eceng gondok and EM4 (Effective Microorganism 4)

The liquid waste of the rubber industry is currently not fully utilized, whereas the industrial rubber waste is the nutrient needed by plants, especially nitrogen (N), phospate (P2O5), and potassium (K2O). The presence of macro nutrients contained in the liquid waste of rubber industry is expected to be an alternative material for the manufacture of liquid compost. Water hyacinth is a plant that also contains a good macro nutrients for plants, so it can be used as an additional material to improve the nutrient elements of liquid compost fertilizer. This research aims to know the utilization of industrial rubber waste in the manufacture of liquid compost fertilizer with the addition of water hyacinth and EM4. The method used in making this liquid organic fertilizer was anaerobic fermentation process. The variables studied were addition of water hyacinth and volume of EM4 added. The results of fermentation were analyzed to obtain data of percentage of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium content. Obtained results of liquid compost fertilizer, with the largest nitrogen content is 1.6% found in EM4 25 mL and water hyacinth 30 gr, the highest percentage of Phospate 0.160% found in liquid compost fertilizer with addition of water hyacinth as much as 20 gr and EM4 25 mL, highest percentage of Potassium equal to 0.358% is found in water hyacinth as much as 25 gr and EM4 25 mL.

TETRAACETYLGLYCOLURIL AND ITS DERIVATIVES: SYNTHESIS, PROPERTIES AND APPLICATION

Due to high multi-functionality, bicyclic ureas of octoic type (also known as glycolurils) are used in many applications, including the manufacturing of slow-release nitrogen fertilizers, additives for paints and coatings, polymer stabilizers, psychoactive drugs, intermediates for synthesize supramolecular compounds such as cucurbiturils and bambusurils and other practically important products. Among the glycoluril derivatives, N,N,N,N-tetraacetic derivative named as tetraacetylglycoluril occupies a special place and is produced as a fine chemical and used as a bleaching activator (as an example for perborates) in detergents. Tetraacetylglycoluril as a parent compound of acylated glycolurils finds its application as a bleaching activator in detergents and successfully competes with its counterpart tetraacetylethylenediamine. The chemistry of tetraacetylglycoluril presented in the literature is fragmentary and unsystematized, and does not allow receiving a deep understanding on the chemical properties and fields of application of this available compound. We suppose that the availability and multi-functionality of the tetraacetylglycoluril makes it possible to realize its synthetic potential. In the present article the main processes to produce tetraacetylglycoluril, its chemical properties and application fields are discussed in details. Chemical properties of tetraacetylglycoluril are described in details for reactions of hydrolysis, nucleophilic substitution, N- and O-acylation of amines and alcohols. It is noteworthy that tetraacetylglycoluril can be successfully used as a soft acylating agent for biogenic organic substrates and as a building block to synthesize new supramolecular compounds.

Life Cycle Assessment of Cane-sugar in Indonesian Sugar Mill: Energy Use and GHG Emissions

This paper presents the life cycle assessment (LCA) of sugar cane production at PG Ngadirejo, that is consist of sugar cane cultivation, transportation and sugar processing. The objective of the study was to identify and review the critical areas of potential Global Warning Potential (GWP) environmental impacts in sugarcane life cycle on PG Ngadirejo. Energy consumption in the sugarcane life cycle is 116.562.52 MJ/ton sugar where the largest consumption in coal energy usage 87%. The relative contribution of CO2 emission contributor, sugar processing contributes the biggest GHG emission of 96.4% (10.728 ton CO2/ton of sugar) with the use of fossil fuels reaching 9,344 ton CO2/ton sugar (87%). In sugarcane cultivation, fertilizer manufacture contributed the largest environmental impact of 0.29 tons CO2/ton of sugar 73.48%, pesticide manufacture 22.5%, and mechanization 4%. The emission reduction from bagasse that replaces fossil fuels in sugar production is 2.43 tons CO2-eq/ton of sugar, reaching 25% of total CO2/ton sugar emissions. Some options for the environmental performance improvement of sugarcane including the optimal use of fertilizers and pesticides, the concentration of sugar mills, co-generation project implementation.

Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia by zirconia-based catalysts at ambient conditions

Ammonia (NH3) is one of the most essential ingredients on earth as it has been widely applied in fertilizer manufacture and as a source of green energy. Artificial nitrogen fixation exceeds 2% of the world consumption based on the traditional Haber-Bosch process, but it is realized at high temperature and pressure and at a cost of CO2 emission. Electrochemical reduction of N2 to NH3 is thus deemed as an alternative and effective approach for nitrogen fixation at ambient conditions. Nevertheless, efficient and selective catalysts are indispensable to split the strong NN triple bonds. In this work, 8 mol% Y2O3 doped zirconia nanoparticles (8YSZ-NPs) is used as a noble-metal free catalyst for reducing nitrogen to ammonia, which enhances the performances of zirconia and ytrria to a high faradic efficiency (FE) of 12.3% and a large NH3 yield of 10.84 μg h−1 mg−1cat in 0.1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte at −0.5 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, which also shows a preeminent selectivity and high electrochemical stability even compared with the catalysts running under high temperature and pressure.

Effects of Low-level Occupational Exposure to Ammonia on Hematological Parameters and Kidney Function.

Background: Many workers, particularly those working in manufacture of fertilizers, explosives, rubber, pesticides, textiles, and employees of petrochemical industries are exposed to ammonia in their workplaces. Toxic responses of hematopoietic system and kidney following occupational exposure to this chemical have not been thoroughly investigated. Objective: To determine the relationship between long-term occupational exposure to low levels of ammonia and hematological parameters and kidney function. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 119 randomly selected, male petrochemical workers and 131 office employees (comparison group) were examined. Urine and blood samples were taken from all participants for urinalysis, complete blood count (CBC), serum calcium level, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and plasma creatinine. Personal, environmental, and peak ammonia exposure were also measured. Results: The median personal, environmental, and peak occupational exposure to ammonia were 0.23, 0.16, and 65.50 mg/m3, respectively, among the exposed group. No significant difference was observed between the exposed and unexposed participants in terms of hematological parameters and urinalysis. Conversely, calcium and BUN, while within the normal range, were significantly higher in the exposed than in the comparison group. Conclusion: Occupational exposure to low atmospheric concentrations of ammonia was associated with subtle, sub-clinical, pre-pathologic changes in kidney function. Possible longterm consequences and ramifications of these effects require further investigation.

Carbon Dioxide Emission and Soil Sequestration for the French Agro-Food System: Present and Prospective Scenarios

France is a major agricultural power, characterized by a high degree of regional specialization, either in stockless cash crop farming, exporting most of its intensive cereal production, or in intensive livestock farming highly dependent on foreign feed imports. This agricultural model is characterized by wide nutrient and carbon cycle opening and severe environmental pollution. Based on the nutrient accounting GRAFS model, two contrasted scenarios for the French agricultural system at the 2050 horizon have recently been designed and evaluated for their capacity to meet both the national population's food demand and environmental standards in terms of water pollution. The first scenario (O/S, for opening and specialization) assumes the continuation of the current trends of intensification, specialization, and opening to international markets. The second one (A/R/D, for autonomy, reconnection, and demitarian diet) assumes a radical change toward organic farming with diversification of crop rotations, reconnection of crop and livestock farming, and reduction of the proportion of animal proteins in the human diet. Herein we calculate the budget of CO2 emissions and C sequestration in soils of these two scenarios compared with the current situation of the French agro-food system, by coupling the GRAFS and AMG models. These simulations reveal that the overall CO2 emissions balance of the O/S scenario is far higher than those of the A/R/D, namely because of the emissions associated with mineral fertilizer manufacture, and imported feed and mechanization of land management requiring a large amount of fossil fuel. As the organic carbon content of the soil is known to be highly path-dependent (in the sense that it is the inheritance of previous land use practices), we tested the effect of two rates of implementation of the two scenarios and evaluated the response time of the C soil store, which is of the order of two decades or more. This reveals that after about two-three decades following the implementation of a scenario, an equilibrium is reached with no more net soil C emission nor sequestration.

Recovering rare earths from fertilizer waste

Rare-earth elements are widely used in technology applications such as electronic devices and strong magnets. Chinese mines supply more than 80% of the critical minerals, so other countries are keen to develop domestic sources. Richard E. Riman of Rutgers University and colleagues have now shown that rare earths can be extracted from phosphogypsum, a calcium sulfate waste product of fertilizer manufacturing (J. Chem. Thermodynamics 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.jct.2018.12.034). An estimated 100,000 metric tons of rare earths—equivalent to about three-quarters of the world’s current production—are consigned to this waste stream every year. Riman’s team prepared phosphogypsum samples and spiked them with six different rare earths, then tested four acids for their ability to extract the metals. Sulfuric acid was the most effective, teasing out 77–94% of the rare earths at pH 0.7. The team also saw promising results from a mixture of gluconic acid and other organic compounds produced by the bacterium

Chemical, Thermal, and Spectroscopic Analysis of Organomineral Fertilizer Residue Recovered from an Oxisol

Core Ideas The joint use of analytical techniques helps us to better understand the characteristics and chemical processes that may influence the efficiency of fertilizers. Differential scanning calorimetry, X‐ray diffractometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques are helpful in capturing the differences in compounds and mineral presence in fertilizers before and after application to the soil. Organomineral and inorganic fertilizers have different capacities to make P available in the soil. Different methods of organomineral fertilizer production result in different capacities to provide P, so that the granulation process resulted in lower P solubility than the granule mixture. Understanding the behavior of different organomineral phosphate fertilizers will help the delivery of available P to plants. We evaluated differences in the characteristics and P availability of granulated organomineral fertilizer (OG), an organomineral granule mixture (OM), and an inorganic granule mixture (MM) and their residues (OGr, OMr, and MMr, respectively) after four 35‐d cropping cycles. Soil‐available P content, X‐ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and soluble P content analyses of the fertilizers and residues were performed. The OM soil had higher available P content after the crops than those with OG and MM. The OGr had the highest total P, water‐soluble P, and P soluble in neutral ammonium citrate and water and a more intense DSC peak related to the remaining monoammonium phosphate than OMr and MMr, indicating that OG had the highest capacity to provide P over time. The XRD and FTIR analyses showed the predominance of aluminum phosphates and the possible formation of low‐solubility compounds in all residues. Differential scanning calorimetry showed a change in the characteristics of the organic matter of OG and OM after application, indicating that these fertilizers have different solubilities and capacities to make P available. The granulation process of OG results in lower capacity to provide P than the granule mixture used for OM. The joint use of several analytical techniques helps clarify fertilizers' characteristics and the chemical processes that influence their efficiency and may be helpful for improving the management and manufacture of organomineral phosphate fertilizers.

Aster Mapping of Limestone Deposits and Associated Lithounits of Parts of Chikkanayakanahalli, Southern Part of Chitradurga Schist Belt, Dharwar Craton, India

Economically viable limestone deposits are mostly formed by calcite minerals, and these minerals are widely used in manufacturing of cement, mortar, fertilizer and flux for smelting of iron ores, and mapping of such deposits is significant and important in scientific research. This study examines the capability of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) with the wavelength range visible–near-infrared and short-wave infrared spectral bands to map such limestone carbonate deposits and associated lithounits occurred in and around of Chikkanayakanahalli, southern part of the Chitradurga schist belt using minimum noise fraction (MNF) and decorrelation stretching methods. The study results that (1) the RGB image of MNF (R: B1; G: B2; B: B3) of ASTER is capable of discriminating the limestones and associated different rock types, namely banded magnetite quartzites (BMQ), graywackes, Mn- and Fe-rich cherts, metabasalts, granitic gneisses, granitoids and migmatites and (2) the decorrelation stretch image of ASTER bands 8, 3, 1 of the ASTER delineated clearly the limestones and associated rocks of the study area. Study of spectral signatures of field samples of such economic limestones in the wavelength of 350–2500 nm using Fieldspec3 Spectroradiometer showed the spectral absorption near 2.32 μm due to the presence of calcite minerals in the rocks. The results of study are cross-verified in the study area and confirmed through petrological and chemical analyses of the samples. This study bespeaks the potential of ASTER sensor and application of image processing methods to map the economic limestone deposits and associated rocks of the study area.

Recent progress in electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction

Ammonia (NH3) is an activated nitrogen building block for the manufacture of modern fertilizers, plastics, fibers, explosives, etc.; however, its production is limited to the traditional Haber–Bosch process.

Use of coal fly ash to manufacture a corrosion resistant brick

In this article, we investigate the use of an environmental waste (coal fly ash) in the manufacture of an ammonium nitrate corrosion resistant brick. Ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilizer spillages and vapors continuously corrode the civil structures in a fertilizer manufacturing plant situated in Zimbabwe. This situation is a safety hazard to more than a hundred plant personnel and hence a priority area for research. Our experimental results show that addition of sodium silicate improved the performance of the brick. Water absorption of bricks generally decreased with an increase in the amount of sodium silicate added. Our results also show that the compressive strength generally increased with increase in amount of sodium silicate added and that the corrosion resistance increases with the amount of sodium silicate added to the coal ash bricks.

我国有机肥生产与产品效能综述

我国有机肥生产与产品效能综述

Reducing the Loss of Nitrogen in Athmosphere by Granular Urea

One of the main objectives for the future agriculture is to achieve high crop yields but also to maintain and improve soil quality. In 1995, the European Fertilizer Manufacturers Association (EFMA) prepared eight Booklets on Best Available Techniques (BAT) in response to the proposed EU Directive on integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC Directive). In this Booklet it is show that ammonium nitrate is used extensively as a nitrogenous fertilizer. It is made exclusively by the reaction between gaseous ammonia and aqueous nitric acid, the production of which are covered in EFMA BAT Booklets 1 and 2 respectively. Reseeding of grassland may increase the mineralisation of organic material and lead to a greater amount of mineral nitrogen in soil, which can be leached during the winter-period.

An overview of business models in the Czech chemical industry: a sustainable multiple value creation perspective

The article presents results of empirical research conducted on companies in the Czech chemical industry, namely CZ NACE 20.1 manufacture of basic chemicals, fertilizers, and plastics. The main goal of the research was to describe novel business models based on sustainable multiple customer value creation. The article’s objective is to present some of the findings from this research to provide an overview of utilized business model elements and characteristics of the industry within the scope of its business models. The original research design combines theoretical concepts of business models, sustainable value creation and multiple customer value to answer the later mentioned research questions. The article states the theoretical background of the research, research design and methods, results, and concludes by stating insights concerning the industry and the respective theory.

Impact of phosphate fertilizers on the uranium and thorium of cultivated soils profiles, Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand

Phosphate fertilizers contain uranium and thorium isotopes due to impurities in the phosphate rock used for fertilizer manufacture. Long term application can significantly accumulate and reach undesirable concentrations in agricultural soils. The presented study determined the 238U and 232Th in the four cultivated fields, one forest reference site and five phosphate fertilizers collected from Kanu Woraksaburi district, Kamphaeng Phet province. The uranium and thorium isotopes were measured by using radiochemical analysis and alpha spectrometry. The radionuclides in four arable soils revealed that the in more clayey soils were higher than in more sandy soils and dramatically decreased along the depth of both soil profiles. The cultivated soils were significantly higher than the reference site where no fertilizers were applied. The values were compared with available reported data from other countries in literature.

Carbon footprint of fertilizer technologies

The work discussed the necessity to evaluate the environmental effect – i.e. carbon footprint (CF), of N-containing fertilizers when including their production, transportation and use. For that purpose, life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was involved. The LCA-based CF concerned model fertilizer technology determined with the consideration of greenhouse gases assimilation during fertilizer-induced vegetation, as compared to non-treated crops system. According to the available data, the inclusion of CO2 assimilation by plants via photosynthesis in balance sheet offsets 87.6% of the CF from the biomass consumption. Thus, the new approach to LCA along with the analysis of life cycle costs would provide more reliable determination of the fee amount charged to European fertilizer manufacturers. The approach might be further developed for various products for plant treatment. Also, the verification of similar fertilizer technologies in different installations is expected to identify bottlenecks in terms of the ecological, technical and economic evaluation.

Fertilizer Mixer Performance Evaluation using Chloride Titration

Mixing processes are a critical step in manufacturing blended fertilizer products. Although each stage of the production process is monitored to prevent deficiencies and ensure quality in fertilizer production, evaluation of mixing performance by regulatory agencies are the keys to assessing quality of the final product. The Office of the Texas State Chemist (OTSC) conducted a fertilizer mixer evaluation study, which involved two main components: sample collection and lab analyses. Samples from 9 mixers were collected from 7 fertilizer manufacturing locations in Texas. Firms were selected based on the type of fertilizer components currently in use and the type of mixer(s), which included cement type, vertical, volumetric and paddle. Sample collection follows the process outlined by The Fertilizer Institute (TFI). Samples are collected from the blended product and from the individual raw ingredient materials. In the laboratory, the samples from the individual raw materials and blended product stream cut samples were analyzed for size guide number (SGN), density, particle number, and nitrogen (N)-phosphorous (P)-potassium (K) levels, and Chloride (Cl-) content. The sample accuracy was calculated by comparing the actual formula weights to the expected values for the blended product. To determine mixer efficiency and reproducibility, coefficient of variations were calculated to determine the variability between various samples of the blended product. Our results indicated Cl- titration is a cost effective method to efficiently evaluate mixer performance, the mixing time of tested cement mixer may result in high variation in the N-P-K analysis, and Cl- level in blended samples. Based on our previous feed mixer study, facilities operating these cement mixers may consider to check mixer readiness and increase mixing time to achieve better homogeneity.https://doi.org/10.21423/jrs-v06n02p008 (DOI assigned 1/24/2019)

Carbon footprint of corn-soy-oats rotations in the US Midwest using data from real biological farm management practices

Agricultural soil management is responsible for a significant portion of net greenhouse gas emission in the United States. Alternative and sustainable agricultural practices are important, as they may help minimize the carbon footprint from agriculture. We developed a framework to account for the carbon footprint (C-footprint), i.e., cumulative greenhouse gas generation of various stages in the cultivation of the crop rotation system of corn-soybean-oats. We obtained real-farm data for this analysis from a biological farming and management company (referred to as bio-farming), and benchmarked this footprint against a conventional farm baseline. The analysis included process modeling i.e., the upstream manufacture of fertilizers and crop applications, local mixing and transport of solid fertilizers (in the bio-farming scenario), on-farm fuel use by farm machinery, as well as agricultural modeling of on-farm soil interactions using the soil & water assessment tool (SWAT).Results varied based on individual crops, and showed that bio-farming practices generated a 44% lower C-footprint for corn, 69% lower footprint for soy and 70% lower footprint for oats compared to conventional farming on a kgCO2e/bushel basis. The on-field (N2O) emissions contributed most significantly to the total carbon footprint at 70%, 96%, and 89% of the total emissions in corn, soy and oats, respectively. C-footprint results of all crops showed a high dependence on the yield of the respective crop. Sensitivity analyses showed that the application of lime and lack of cover crop increased C-footprint. We identified strategies to reduce emissions from the bio-farming scenario further by implementing management strategies.

The characteristic and problems of beef cattle – palm oil integration in Indonesia

Since 2003, the Indonesian government through the Ministry of Agriculture has been promoting the program of integration of beef cattle-palm oil. After fifteen years the program is conducted, it is needed a study to find out the progress of integration implementation. The objective of this study is to identify the main characteristics and problems of implementing integration that have been carried out on a small and large scale from palm oil plantations in several provinces in Indonesia. The study has been conducted in several locations of integration in Indonesia. The conclusion of this research is the integration in Indonesia is carried out with intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive integration patterns. Bali Cattle is the most commonly used. There is no standard processing of cattle feed made from biomass of palm oil plantation industry. The issues encountered in the implementation integration by small-scale farmers are the difficulty of obtaining palm kernel cake, unfavourable feed processing technology, and the issue cattle destroying palm oil plantations. And large-scale are the issue cattle destroying palm oil plantations, marketing problem, and understanding of the principle of implementation integration.Business diversification carried out on integration activities is manufacture of solid organic fertilizer, liquid organic fertilizer, and the manufacture of biogas from cattle dung and urine.

PENDAMPINGAN PENGGUNAAN MOLASSES DALAM MEMPERCEPAT PENGOLAHAN DAN PEMANFAATAN FESES TERNAK UNTUK PEMBUATAN PUPUK ORGANIK

Very high fertilizer prices pose a very serious problem for farmers in Sumberdadi village, Bakung, Blitar, East Java, but this can actually be overcome with the available resources, but the knowledge and the community are very lacking on the information on fertilizer making. Therefore, to use livestock manure to be used as compost, it is necessary to conduct activities to start socialization and workshops on the use of molasses in accelerating the processing and utilization of animal feces for the manufacture of organic fertilizer. The method used in community service activities is the method of Participatory Action Research (PAR). The enthusiasm of the representatives of the community was very good, 85% of the community representatives invited to attend the event. The process of making organic fertilizer with molasses begins with the preparation of materials and tools needed. Molasses are good bacteria that are used to make compost. After organic fertilizer with a catalyst (bio-activator) molasses is made, then the next step is the implementation of the plant and eventually, it will be evaluated. Based on a five-day evaluation between rice that was given organic fertilizer with molasses it grew faster by an average of 1.5 cm compared to rice given an organic fertilizer with a length of 1.4 cm, whereas in the seeds of rice plants that were not given fertilizer at all the growth rate is around 1.2 cm. In corn kernels, there is a very significant difference between corn seeds which are given organic fertilizer and anorganic fertilizer compared to corn seeds without fertilizer at all.