Many of the presentations made references to current global challenges – whether to do with the current high cost of fertilizer or longer-term problems such as the need to increase NUE or reduce emissions.
Presentations covered the various product types - stabilized nitrogen for above and below ground protection, and coated granules for controlled-release fertilizers. There were the latest field trial results, whether for measuring the reduction in N losses through various pathways, comparison with untreated fertilizers, measuring ROI or improved nutrient use efficiency (NUE). The programme showed the development of sector, such as combined products providing multiple protection and enhanced nutrient uptake at same time. Another highlighted the incompatibility between nitrification inhibitors and phosphates. There was also a glimpse into the future with a slow-release fertilizer from recycled raw materials.
Stabilised fertilizers (SF) One of the speakers was Gregor Pasda – Global Technical Marketing – BASF. He had the question - How could existing and upcoming policies of EU drive adoption of SF? He began by reminding the audience that there are three ways for nitrogen losses - through ammonia volatilisation, nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions. The cumulative effect of all losses – whether to the atmosphere, or deeper soil layers, or into groundwater, or even nitrogen fixation in soil – means that on average only 50% of the applied nitrogen is taken up by the crops. “And these losses have consequences for the environment, he said. “Ammonia acidifies soils and reduces biodiversity.” One solution to reduce nitrogen losses are nitrogen inhibitors or stabilizers – a urease inhibitor can reduce ammonia emissions reduce by 70%, according to Pasda. N2O emissions can on average be reduced with a nitrification inhibitor by 38% and reduce nitrate leaching by 18%. “Only 50% of the applied nitrogen is taken up by the crop,” said Pasda referring to untreated urea. The loss refers not only to the nutrient – but also to the loss of yield. Pasda gave an estimate to the cost to the farmer for both losses as 6 euro/kg N.
On average only 50% of the applied nitrogen is taken up by the crop.
Pasda gave a summary of the objectives of the F2F and Biodiversity strategy – nutrient losses down by 50%, and usage of fertilizers reduced by 20%. He provided an example of how policy could drive adoption. This could be through finance, for example, for farmers who buy nutrient spreaders with GPS technology that enables variable rate application. “If a farmer goes for a model without GPS, perhaps that farmer might not get the loan,” he speculated. Pasda then explained that there are digital tools for optimum N demand, and these can be used with urease and nitrification inhibitors to reduce N losses.
He left the audience with a figure quoted from Fertilisers Efficiency Enhancers Sector Group October 2021. Using urease and nitrate inhibitors with urea and ammonium containing fertilisers in Europe could lead to carbon abatement of 32 million tonnes of CO2. The report said: “Taking into account the effect of saving nitrogen losses of about 619 kT nitrogen and average CO2eq emissions of 3.5 t per ton of fertilisers nitrogen produced in Europe the overall potential impact of inhibitor technology on emissions from nitrogen fertilisers sums up to about 32 million tons of CO2 equivalents or about 33% reduction of the carbon footprint of current nitrogen fertiliser use.” In the Q&A following the presentation, Pasda was asked about the barriers to adoption by farmers. He replied that farmers wanted data that reflected their local conditions. From the perspective of New AG International, it would therefore seem the uptake of precision agriculture could pull along the uptake of stabilised nitrogen.
Coated fertilizer Ronald Clemens – Global Product manager CFR, ICL Specialty Fertilizers presented his company’s latest field trial results with coated controlled release fertilizers. His starting point was the target of the European Commission to reduce fertilizer use by at least 20% by 2030, and boost EU organic farming area with aim to achieve 25% of total farmland under organic farming by 2030. Clemens noted that in European countries farmers already have a limit for nitrogen application rates – “They cannot just apply the volumes that they want,” he said. He also made reference to a Wageningen report that claimed reducing rates by 20% would lead to yield declines. Clemens said: “If that is the end result, more land is used to produce the same amount of food.” Efficiency of fertilizer is therefore key and the answer to use EEF, concludes Clemens.
If that is the end result, more land is used to produce the same amount of food.
One of Clemen’s slides asked the question: “What should Enhanced Efficiency bring?” He answered it by saying the reduction of nitrogen losses, less quantity to be applied, fewer applications, while being able to maintain yields.
He presented some results conducted from last year, 2021, on potato fields in Europe. Using ICL’s product Agromaster, the table shows the increase in nutrient use efficiency (NUE) (calculation given in slides). German table potato N 180 saw + 24%, UK seed potato N 150 +82%, and Poland starch potato N 115 + 33% When summarising his slide, Clemens elaborated on the possibilities available using CRFs. He said it was possible with the same N application, to have higher yields. “In principle the farmer needs less land to get the same amount of yield, or he has possibility to reduce his nitrogen application and maintain the yields or reduced N application and maintain yields.”
Clemens also gave a glimpse on the direction of ICL regarding NUE products that were either available or in the pipeline:
Multiple protection products Luciano Lucero – President sales, Innovar Ag introduced the idea of multiple nitrogen protection and combination products. His presentation asked if it was feasible to combine a multiple nitrogen protection (above and below ground) and enhanced nutrient uptake all-in-one product. He began by looking at what the farmer wants? “Our observations from 30 countries. I also have a farm operation interesting to be on the other side of the fence, and to be a buyer. The number one thing is easiest way possible. Sustainability – the farmer wants his business to pass to future generations. Needs the soil and health of system needs to be there. Every time we have new technology, the first and continuous barrier of adoption is how much return the farmer will have on that. if not sustainable with higher yields or higher income compared to the investment that it’s in place, these new products or technology won’t survive. The farm is a business so needs a positive return at the end of the day.”
Lucero introduced Innovar’s NEON product, which is a liquid combination additive of NYIELD Urease Inhibitor and NBOUND Nitrification inhibitor in one jug. From an Innovar contribution to New AG International, March 2019, the company said: “The benefits of adding 2 inhibitors to urea or UAN nitrogen at one time include providing above ground and below ground loss protection reducing volatilization, denitrification and leaching losses. Treating just one time saves dealer blend time cost and bin storage space, resulting in ultimate lower costs passed to growers. “In the past, there was never a way to combine the nitrification inhibitor DCD onto urea until PenXcel technology, a proprietary and patented solvent package, was invented. Before this, the DCD portion had to be added inside the urea plant, adding extra cost and logistic issues. Not to mention that a higher rate of DCD had to be added to make up for the portions of it made unavailable because of the high urea stream temperatures.”
Lucero then went on to talk about the problems of Phosphorus and Potash availability in soils. InnoSolve PKMe is an additive that has a long chain polymer, which is biodegradeable, which is synthesised with a cation exchange capacity (CEC) of “750 meq/ 100g which provides a sweet spot where this will hold the P and K cations in soil but not too strong the plant can’t take them,” explained Lucero. Innovar then injected all three products N-yield/Nbound as Neon and Innosolve PKMe with N 45-0-0 nitrogen source with benefits for P and K availability in soil.
We started in 2019 the first time to go for a final product with all those benefits, a granular product that out of production plant inject technologies at different stages
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Comparing treated urea with AN Zbigniew Potrzuski, Marketing Product Development manager, Phoenix Sp. Zoo Sp.k outlined the results of an investigation comparing urea with NBPT urease inhibitor and untreated ammonium nitrate (AN), the dominant nitrogen fertilizer in Poland. “In 2010 we approached the problem of urea fertilizers – their unreliability due to unpredictability of ammonia volatilisation, which is a big problem for farmers.” He described the experiment set-up. The method was referred to as micrometerological integrated horizontal flux method using passive sampler for determination of NH3 emission from land surfaces. The vertical ammonia stream density was measured in four different height ranges from the surface of the emission source, and collected over 5 days, which according to Potrzuski the key period for when ammonia will volatise from the soil after application. The experimental set was outlined in a paper cited with the Digital object identifier DOI: 10.7862/rb.2015.112. It can be downloaded in Polish, with a summary in English.
Results of experiment Performed in 2011/12 in the Pomerania region of Poland, the cumulative losses of nitrogen after N fertilization were about 16%, while those with treated urea with NBPT were 4.3% to the initial amount of N after 4-5 days of measurement. The results from the experiment showed that overall NBPT inhibitor stabilizing can reduce ammonia emission by 73%. Then results for UAN carried out on winter wheat fertilized with 60 kg N/ha with NBPT decreased ammonia losses by 86%. Potrzuski pointed out that this was not always the case, UAN with NBPT on oilseed rape – only 54% decrease in ammonia losses. He noted that UAN less predictable when stabilised than urea. Then he presented the results from urea treated with NBPT compared with AN when used on two cultivars, wheat and maize. Potrzuski said it was recommended in Poland that spring nitrogen (AN or UAN) application rates are usually 50-70% of total rate. Urea top dressing in so high N rate creates risk of plant seedlings being damaged by ammonia, which can decrease yields. “If one wants to apply in early spring urea in substantial quantities must find ways of slowing down its hydrolysis,” he explained. At the experimental station Baborowko an experiment with two cultivars (winter wheat and maize) was conducted with hypothesis that stabilised urea (with trade name moNolith46) is a full value alternative to AN. Carried out in Wielkopolsa voivodship 2012 done on wheat. The rates were: Monolith46 applied in one go in 80kg/ha, 120 and 160 AN applied in one go at 80 kg/ha, then two applications 80+40 and then three 80+40+40 The results slide was showing that level of difference in yield was not statistically significant, said Potrzuski. AN yields were slightly better at lower to rates, and the results based on this experiment had monolith46 slightly higher at the 160kg/ha rate. From this he concluded 3 applications of AN, same as 1 app of U with NBPT.
During last few years, we have noticed farmers discover this phenomenon and now using stabilised urea in one dose 160kg/ha or even 180 kg/ha – savings in fuel and labour, he said. Farmers told us what about other areas, Podlaskie voivodship in 2013, so we made experiments in different regions. Concluded from results that could offer stabilised N to all areas in Poland and similar protein levels to other results in published literature. Talking with New AG International after the presentation, Potrzuski said that take up of NBPT was still low in Poland and that farmers still use their traditional AN. Potrzuski noted that the second application of AN is largely to replace any losses to leaching, while the 3rd application is for grain protein.
Inhibitors and Brazilian corn crop Professor Douglas Guelfi, from Federal University of Lavras, Brazil spoke on Urease inhibitors formulations as strategy to improve nitrogen use efficiency in corn crop. He started his presentation with highlights of inhibitor developments.
As can be seen from the screenshot, fertilization efficiency is a critical factor for food security and inhibitors can play a role in this challenge. Guelfi discussed the incompatibility of NBPT and phosphate fertilizers. The professor showed a slide with different amounts of urea treated with NBPT with MAP. The red line in the image shows more MAP (70%) and 30% treated urea. The presence of the MAP reduced the NBPT concentration. With TSP, there was also a fast degradation of NBPT. “Free acidity in the phosphate granule helps to degrade NBPT,” explained Guelfi.
Recycled raw material Dr Yariv Cohen – head of research and development, EasyMining introduced a recovered sustainable slow-release fertiliser. For those in the audience for whom EasyMining was a new name, Cohen gave a brief overview. Founded in 2007, EasyMining is the innovation company of Ragn-Sells, a Swedish family-owned company specialising in recycling waste management with revenues of 7 billion SEK (usd 700 million) and 2,700 employees. EasyMining has around 40 employees in 3 locations - two in Sweden and one in Germany. Ragn-Sells handles 5 million tonnes of waste per year except nuclear. “We are now working on new products from waste and our focus is on nutrients, to recover nutrients from waste,” said Cohen. EasyMining is working on four technologies: Ash2Phos, the main subject of the presentation, and refers to recovery of phosphorus from fly ash of incinerated sewage sludge. Other technologies include Ash2salt, a salt extraction method from fly ash and that could extract around 3,500 t/y of potassium chloride, 7,000 t of sodium chloride and 32,000 t of calcium chloride; CleanMAP Energy efficient production of ammonium phosphate; and Project Nitrogen that involves the recovery of nitrogen in form of the ammonium sulphate from liquid waste streams. Cohen said that EasyMining is currently building a plant to recovery salts from fly ash. The plant will be able to handle around 130,000 tonnes of fly ash per year, he said. This represents half of the fly ash produced in Sweden, said Cohen.
We now working on new products from waste and our focus is on nutrients.
In terms of the development of Ash2Phos and the recovery of phosphorus, the first plant is planned through a JV with Gelsenwasser Germany, aimed for 2024 start-up. Gelsenwasser AG is a German utilities company that supplies natural gas and fresh water to residents in Germany. Increased levels of sludge incineration Cohen gave a comparison of sludge incineration in Europe and observed that more sludge is being incinerated. Cohen offered three reasons for this – the first is logistics. If the distance is too large to transport to agriculture. If contains too much water not worth transporting. Big cities too much sludge in one place that you can’t transport to agriculture. Second, in Denmark and Holland you have large amounts of animal manure, surplus of phosphorus and therefore no room for phosphorus from sewage sludge. Thirdly, in Switzerland and Germany fear of heavy metals, plastics, and disease there is a ban on using sewage sludge. And for these reasons more sludge is incinerated. Cohen said that the incineration ‘opens’ the way to recycle the phosphorus. Three function – the first is detoxification. When you burn sludge 850C for two seconds you destroy organics, pollutions, drug residues, pathogens. “Another bonus is you have an up concentration of phosphorus from 0.8% in sewage sludge you go up to 9%.” If you include anion and cation of phosphate around 50% of weight of ash is concentrated raw material. The only problem is the high concentration of heavy metals, iron and aluminium. “When incinerate you reduce weight and volume by 90% which makes it easier to transport,” he continued. “We have developed a way to process the ash, separate the metals, and recover the phosphorus in clean form. It’s a wet chemical process, in the same way you digest rock phosphate with an acid, we digest the ash with an acid. The main chemicals that we use are acid and lime. We separate the heavy metal in future it will be possible to recycle the copper, nickel and zinc. We recycle the iron and aluminium as coagulants used in wastewater treatment. You add iron and aluminium in wastewater plant to capture phosphorus and they end up in ash, and if you extract them from ash, you can use them again. We recover phosphorus in clean form. And we get silicate residue that can be used in concrete application. Schkopau plant – “We’re working with Gelsenwasser, which owns 65 waste plants. We’re working to build the first ash2phos plant in Schkopau.”
Incineration ‘opens’ the way to recycle phosphorus
Gelsenwasser jv with EasyMining By way of background, EasyMining and Gelsenwasser announced 15 December 2021 the signing of their agreement for the creation of a joint company named Phosphorgewinnung Schkopau GmbH (PGS). “The objective of the joint venture is to build the world’s first phosphorus recovery plant based on the Ash2Phos technology”, the statement read. "Cooperation across the value chain is key to circular transformation. So by creating this joint venture we can take advantage of our complementary knowledge, and use a resource efficient technology to recover a scarce substance such as phosphorus”, says Jan Svärd, CEO of EasyMining. In 2018, EasyMining and Gelsenwasser had signed a Letter of Intent, and in September 2020 the company’s agreed to expand their cooperation with the primary goal to construct a major new facility for extracting phosphorus from incinerated sewage sludge.
“Overall, an expansion of capacities in Germany to 300,000 tons is planned within the next ten years, and that is approximately half of the future sewage sludge ash volume in Germany,” the statement read.
Work in practice Cohen described how the plant will operate: ash will be brought to the plant by truck. Blown into the plant. We have industrial supply to the building. Located near wastewater. The main benefit of the incineration is the detoxification with more than 96% of heavy metals reduced. Cohen says it is the cleanest on the market today. Clean compared to rock phosphate. The phosphorus is precipitated as calcium phosphate (PCP) with phosphorus content of 16.9%. Equals 40% P2O5. Fluorine contact very low. It is feed quality PCP. Works well but legislation don’t allow feed that has origin in feed. “This product is fully soluble in citric acid. But it is not water soluble,” said Cohen. And this gives it the slow-release potential. “We have made some agronomic assessment of this product. Since it is soluble in citric acid, we believe it is a good slow-release fertilizer, once the root finds its way to the product it can dissolves this product with the citric acid that the root exudes.” EasyMining has worked with a fertilizer company and looked at the dry matter yield of ryegrass. Compared with triple super phosphate (TSP), which is water soluble, the yield of the EasyMining PCP was 80% that achieved with TSP. “We believe it can be a slow-release fertilizer when granulated, or mixed with other slow-release fertilizer. It is not acidic, so good for neutral soils. Cohen ended by outlining the possible pathways going forward – to provide a raw material to make fertilizer, and replace rock phosphate, but he said they believe it can find application as a final product that is recycled with slow-release properties. ●
These presentations were available on playback on the New AG International event app, where remote delegates could watch them ‘live’ and submit questions.
