The product – a “bioplastic” material – has been created by University of Saskatchewan (USask) chemistry professor Lee Wilson, PhD, and his research team.
This bioplastic material is a biocomposite pellet that contains a marine polysaccharide (chitosan), eggshells and wheat straw. The pellet is its own “closed loop” material that absorbs phosphate from water sources and is thenused as a fertilizer source for agricultural applications.
The journey towards this breakthrough began several years ago, as Wilson and his team embarked on a quest to explore new composite materials with adjustable absorption properties. Initially focused on absorbent materials, the project gained momentum around 2020, eventually honing in on the
potential for these pellets to sequester phosphate.
USask researcher and chemistry professor Lee Wilson, PhD, left, and PhD candidate Bernd Steigerhold bioplastic pellets designed to absorb contaminants in water.
Photo: Kristen McEwen
“We had made some of these pelletized materials as far back as 2017,” Wilson explains. “But the dedicated effort towards fertilizer uptake and controlled release intensified over the past year.”
This closed loop system is an alternative solution to mining phosphate and instead using the nutrient already present in water sources. It is also an alternative to products that use plastic coatingsto deliver fertilizer to agricultural land, eventually becoming microplastic pollution.
Over the last year, Wilson and his team, consisting of PhD candidate Bernd G. K. Steiger, BSc student Nam Bui and postdoctoral fellow trainee Bolanle M. Babalola, have been dedicated to development of agricultural applicationsof the bioplastic pellets.
Various types of pellets prepared (with scale).
Photo: USask
“We had some little side routes into that area even before that time. But this was more of a concerted effort to say, OK, these pellets are fairly sustainable and could be used sort of like a double closed loop system,” notes Wilson. “The one closed loop would be converting waste into a value-added material, while the second loop is using that material to sequester phosphate from groundwater to address environmental remediation an agricultural needs.”
Wilson, a chemistry professor in the Department of Chemistry within the College of Arts and Science, and is currently working collaboratively with the university’s College of Agriculture to see how the material would work in a field setting.
“We want to demonstrate thatthese materials have some promise,” he said. “We’d also be interested in looking at projects with industry as well. This could be done in parallelto our ongoing research work atthe university.
Various types of pellets prepared in a recent study.
“Based on recent results, I think this biosorbent technology will be of high commercial interest to companies that are working on controlled release fertilizers or slow released fertilizer systems.”
As anticipation builds for further research outcomes, Wilson hints at future announcements in the coming months, teasing potential breakthroughs on the horizon. With their sights set on broader recognition and support, Wilson and his team are poised to usher in a new era of agricutlural innovation and environmental stewardship.
The research was detailed in a paper published in the Royal Society of Chemistry Sustainability Journal. ●
“By week 47 the plan was to have the roof closed and in week 47 it was,” Pirkko Westin told New AG during the opening ceremony. She was responsible for the construction of the plant as the project chief. Such attention to detail would typify the construction project.
From breaking ground to the firstSOP rolling off the line, it has beena 15-month construction and commissioning endeavour. The first shipment to customers is not far away. The CEO and founder of CINIS Fertilizer, Jakob Liedberg, told New AG International that the plant is currently building stock for the first cargoes to be sent to their distribution partner Van Iperen International.
Located in Köpmanholmen, approximately 25 km southwestof the city of Örnsköldsvik, the factory is about 300 metresfrom the port’s quay.
The site used to be home to a paper mill many years ago. A common problem across Sweden used to be what to do with the waste products – such as sludge and ash which would be deposited in the sea.
Cinis Fertilizer offers a solution to that problem: taking the sodium sulphate – a byproduct of paper mills – and combining with muriate of potash (MOP). The company will also use sodium sulphate which is produced as a byproduct in the production of electric car batteries.
The plant will use renewable energy from the various suppliers in the region. Örnsköldsvik has various suppliers. It is home to a biomass power plant called Hörneborgsverket; Holmen Energy, which has hydro and wind power, and Liquid Wind, which is aiming to produce a biofuel by 2025 that will provide electricity for local industry and domestic users.
So why is this new fertilizer factory important?
“For many reasons,” says Liedberg. “I believe it’s a way to show the world that’s it’s possible to produce fertilizers in a totally fossil fuel-free way. You can do it consuming less energy than traditional methods
today and you can do it efficiently as well. And you can bring products to the markets that will help farmers in the end reduce their carbon footprint. I think that’s the overall significance of what we have done here.”
Jakob Liedberg, CEO Cinis Fertilizer (right) and Erik van den Bergh, Managing Director Van Iperen International (left) gave addresses at the opening ceremony.
Logistic linkages The MOP will come from K+S in Germany and be shipped from Hamburg, typically in 3,000-4,000 tonne vessels to the quay at Köpmanholmen. The waterway to the port can freeze during winter requiring ice-class vessels. Most of the sodium sulphate will arrive via vessel, but some can be trucked from a nearby pulp mill.
The port can discharge vessels up to 8,000 tonnes, but it would need to be dredged to allow larger vessels and that could be on the cards through a municipal project. A new crane is also scheduled to be installed by the port authorities.
From the dockside, the MOP is transported the short distance by truck to the 6,000 square metre storage facility. To produce 100,000 t/y of SOP requires 86,000 t of MOP and 79,000 t of sodium sulphate.
When running at capacity, the SOP will be loaded onto the vessel delivering raw material and take the finished product to Van Iperen’s bagging facility in Dordrecht, Netherlands. From there the SOP will be shipped to global markets.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Erik van den Bergh, Managing Director, Van Iperen International, said that mineral fertilizers deserve credit and have served society well for 100 years, but these fertilizers are energy intensive with a large carbon footprint. “Cinis Fertilizer helps farmers to continue their practices, and this is the best way to enable adoption. Let this first factory be the starting point,” said van den Bergh.
Further sites A second site is planned for Hopkinsville, Kentucky, U.S., with an SOP production capacity of 300,000 t/y and slated for commercial production in 2025. In September 2023, Cinis Fertilizer signed an agreement with the battery manufacturer Ascend Elements based locally for the supply of sodium sulphate.
The Kentucky site will be followed by a third plant in Sweden, which lies approximately 200 km north of Köpmanholmen near the city of Skellefteå, which is associated with mineral mining. The third plant will have an SOP capacity of 200,000 t/y and will be close to the Northvolt electric car battery factory in Skellefteå, which will supply Cinis Fertilizer with sodium sulphate to both the Skellefteå and Köpmanholmen plants.
The port of Köpmanholmen has an anchorage depth of 23.2 metres.There are plans that could see the port dredged allowing the dockingof vessels larger than 8,000 tonnes.
The storage facility is a wooden structure containing four bins –two for the raw inputs (MOP and sodium sulphate) and two for the outputs:the potassium sulphate and sodium chloride.
Ramping up productionThe plant at Köpmanholmen is running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The plant will receive roughly one vessel per week, which takes around 16 hours to unload and move to the storage bins. From the moment the MOP moves from the storage silo to the first crystallizer, where the magnesium is removed, it is about eight hours for it to be turned into the final product.
The production route is the glaserite process, which is a two-step process where the MOP is reacted with sodium sulphate to form glaserite. In the second stage the glaserite reacts with potassium chloride to form potassium sulphate. (Ref Brad Gunn).
The entire process is at atmospheric pressure and below 30C temperatures, which reduces the energy consumption. The height of the processing building is 28 metres, typical of a processing unit that uses gravity at certain stages.
The first SOP was produced in May 2024. As well as a water-soluble grade SOP, the plant will also produce around 65,000 t of sodium chloride, which could be used for road de-icing.
The plant employs 30 people in total with four people required on each shift. At some point the production will be halted for a 10-day turnaround but that is not envisaged in the near term.
Conveyor in foreground taking MOP from storage (left) to the processing building (right). Conveyor in background is taking finished SOP to the storage facility.
What’s behind the name? Jakob Liedberg talks to New AG International during an excursion to the Höga Kusten (High Coast), a World Heritage Site near to the production site at Köpmanholmen. Conducted in the café, a young baby did try to get in on the interview. Liedberg explains the importance of the project; how it was able to come home on time; and the story behind the name ‘CINIS’.
The potassium sulphate produced by Cinis Fertilizer has an analysis: SOP (%w/w) is potassium oxide >51%, potassium >42%, sulphur trioxide >45%, sulphur >18%.
Wider significanceDuring the inauguration ceremony, the significance of having new fertilizer production in Europe was stressed by Sweden’s Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren. He mentioned the importance of more European production since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sweden joined NATO in March 2024.
The Chair of Örnsköldsvik’s municipal board, Anna-Britta Åkerlind described Örnsköldsvik as a “makers’ town” citing BAE Systems, which makes its CV90 infantry combat vehicle in the town. Another manufacturer is Domsjö Fabriker a biorefinery that converts forest materials into specialty cellulose, lignin and bioethanol which can be used to power vehicles.
The makers’ town now has a new addition. The cost of building the first Cinis Fertilizer plant was estimated by the company as approximately SEK 740 million (USD 70.4 million). In total, six factories are planned with a total capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of SOP by 2030.
If you are going to start somewhere, start in a makers’ town. ●
Photo: Örnsköldsvik was described as a ‘makers’ town’ by Anna-Britta Åkerlind, the Chair of the municipal board. As well as making, it is also known for jumping. The Paradiskullen ski-jump in foreground is used for international competitions.
