Recipient Organization
GREENTECHNOLOGIES, L.L.C.
3926 NW 34TH DR
GAINESVILLE,FL 326051475
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Biobased fertilizers are an under-utilized plant nutrient resource. Recycled biobased fertilizers help conserve natural resources through protecting water quality, improving soil health, and promoting superior nutrient management practices. However, they remain underutilized in practice due to low nutrient content, nutrient imbalance, safety concerns related to storage, and physical characteristics that limit compatibility with established application methods.GreenTechnolgoies (hereinafter "GT") has identified a new, untapped market opportunity leveraging its patented coating technology paired with underutilized biosolids to address current limitations associated with the use of recycled biobased fertilizers. This coating can be applied to biosolids, animal waste, organic granular fertilizers, and even some inorganic granular fertilizers to create a sustainable and affordable line of enhanced-efficiency fertilizers.During Phase I, GT demonstrated the feasibility of a patented new technology for applying a mineral coating onto biosolids pellets to address these inherent barriers. Coated biosolids with higher nitrogen content, better nutrient balance and variable composition were produced and characterized. Furthermore, GT demonstrated that the coating prevents heating and smoldering when the coated product is stored in bulk.This Phase builds on the success achieved during Phase I. Phase II R&D and commercialization activities will result in a unique line of enhanced efficiency fertilizer products. The technology has potential to greatly expand use of biosolids and manure-based fertilizers by fulfilling agricultural producers' needs in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
Having demonstrated the feasibility of the technology in Phase I, GT will continue its research on, and development of, the coating method to manufacture enhanced efficiency biosolids and manure-based fertilizer products for commercialization in agriculture-related markets. Phase II Technical Objectives are identified specifically to overcome key technical challenges that must be addressed to move the product to commercialization. Objectives include, 1. Develop commercial pilot manufacturing. Phase II will carry out the research needed to adapt the batch processes demonstrated in Phase I to a Pilot scale continuous production process of five targeted coated biosolids fertilizer products. 2. Demonstrate safety and quantify the physical characteristics of the new fertilizer compositions. Phase II will quantify and document self-heating characteristics of the coated fertilizer products and compare results to uncoated bio-based organic fertilizers. Phase II will also measure and document the physical characteristics of the coated fertilizers, including hardness, bulk density, and product uniformity. 3. Conduct field studies of the new coated organic fertilizers. Field studies will target entry markets of turfgrass and citrus to demonstrate the efficacy of the new product line. 4. Adapt the patented coating process to other biobased sources, in particular, manure-based fertilizers.
Project Methods
Develop Commercial Pilot Manufacturing. The targeted Phase II coated biosolid products are GreenEdge® RLC products, 8-3-0, 8-3-1, 10-3-0, 10-2-1, and 12-2-0.For Phase II,GT will develop a continuous process described below, targeting pilot scale capacities of 4000 to 7000 kgs per day.GT has arranged to lease a coating drum equipped with a sprayer boom from FEECO International. GreenTechnologies will evaluate whether a drum dryer or fluid bed hot air dryer provides better product outcome. Packaging, storage and transport for the Phase II pilot manufacturing will be integrated with GT's ongoing operations. Optimization of many parameters is required to adapt the batch coating process to a continuous coating process, among them interplay of drum rotation rates, precursor addition rates, nozzle spray rates and spray pressures, angle of application relative to the drum angle, and residence time in coater. These process parameters will need to be determined for each of the target formulations and for different size ranges of the organic fertilizer precursor.Chemical composition and physical attributes will be monitored and used to feedback into process development. Chemical and physical characterization will also be used to monitor uniformity and quality control during pilot manufacturing. For chemical analysis, GT will use licensed commercial labs.For methods development, higher resolution microscopic inspection will be performed to more closely monitor the consistency of the coating process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) will be used to determine a coating's thickness and uniformity. Electron microscopy also allows detailed chemical mapping of the coating using energy dispersive X-ray emission spectroscopy (EDX).SafetyStudiesPhase II will include a study of different storage practices in two different parts of the country to further demonstrate the effect of the GreenEdge® RLC coating in preventing self-heating. The study will compare at least two different thicknesses of the calcium sulfate based coating. Coated fertilizer will be stored at GT's facility in one-ton bulk bags (52"x35"x35") and monitored for periods of six months during the Florida winter and Florida summer. The temperature of the bulk bags at a 12" and 40" depth over this six-month time period will be measured, while simultaneously recording ambient conditions and making observations on evidence of smoldering and level of characteristic odors. A parallel control study will be conducted using GreenTechnologies' uncoated biosolid product, GreenEdge 6-3-0. In addition, a second "open air" storage test will be monitored by Synagro personnel at Synagro's facility in Pennsylvania. For the open-air study, at least two temperature probes will be monitored at different depths in the outdoor pile. Weather/climate data will also be monitored, including daily high temperatures, relative humidity, wind speed and rainfall. Once again, controls with uncoated biosolids pellets will be performed in parallel. The results will be compared to the Phase I study to reveal any variations in high-volume storage.Fertilizer physical characteristics Among the fertilizer specifications to be measured are hardness, bulk density, typical sizing and size variation.Studies will be conducted to measure the crushing force of the different coated formulations, using a particle crush test press. In addition, the PI will measure fertilizer density (lbs/ft3 or kg/m3) for each of the compositions produced during pilot production. Particle size variations will also be measured utilizing the size guide number (SGN) with uniformity index (UI = (d95/d10) x 100) for each product.Turfgrass Field Study:ResearchersNorth Carolina State University willconduct a turfgrass field study to testGreenEdge RLC products, 8-3-0, 8-3-1, 10-3-0, 10-2-1, and 12-2-0. Tests will be conducted on two turfgrass varieties, tall fescue, a cool season grass, and bermudagrass, a warm season grass. Fertilizer products will be applied at two rates, 0.5 lb N per 1000 sq.ft and 1.0 lb N per 1000 sq.ft, with a frequency of three to four applications per year. Studies will be replicated three times, so each product will be tested in six plots for a total of 24 turfgrass plots. The plots will be monitored bi-weekly for 24 months by Dr. Grady Miller. Controls will include the uncoated biosolids based product, GreenEdge 6-3-0 and a standard soluble (not enhanced efficiency) N-P-K fertilizer.Standard Visual Quality Rating and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) will be recorded to evaluate the turfgrass response to the coated fertilizer treatments and nutrient analysis will be performed on harvested tissue. Additionally, the nutrient content (N-P-K and selected micronutrients) of the turfgrass tissue will be measured. Dr. Miller will provide quarterly reports to GT on the progress of the study as well as a final report.Turfgrass field studies:Early AdoptersGT will partner with Haile Plantation Golf and Country Club and Quail Creek Country Club to test new products. GT will work with course managers to layout field plots of three to five the targeted GreenEdge® RLC formulations. Typically, three 4 ft x 6 ft field plots will be established for each product and monitored over a twelve-month period. Standard Visual Quality Ratings will be recorded bi-weekly for each field plot.Story Groves Services, Inc.has agreed to collaborate and monitor the response of GreenEdge® RLC 10-3-1 on their citrus trees. In conjunction with Story Groves, GT will evaluate the trees treated with GreenEdge® RLC formulations toinclude visual inspection by GT representatives along with qualitative assessments provided by Story Groves. Growth rates will be monitored for young trees. Observations of yield will be recorded on mature trees. Importantly, observations will be made related to citrus greening in comparison to other treatments.Adapt Coating to other biobased sources.An additional technical objective of Phase II is to adapt the coating technology to different sources of organic fertilizers, beginning with dried swine sludge.GT will target three size regimes, SGN 90, SGN 200, and SGN 280-300. Initial studies will utilize the experimental system fabricated in Phase I, which employs a hydraulic sprayer coupled to Rotary Blender equipped with sparging nozzles. Typically, the blender will be charged with the dried sludge pellets and solid precursors of the coating while other precursors are applied with the sparging equipment. This research coating system operates in a batch processing mode with up to 1000 kg capacity. This scale is adequate for methods development and for studies to analyze the coatings.The three coating processes adopted for biosolids products will be explored, all based on our calcium sulfate coating matrix. All three of the proposed coating processes use ammonium sulfate and calcium nitrate as precursors to produce calcium sulfate and ammonium nitrate.The precursor ammonium sulfate is obtained as a solid and blended with the biosolid.The water-soluble calcium nitrate is spray-applied, wetting the biosolid. The gradually dissolving ammonium sulfate induces the cross reaction leading to the lower solubility calcium sulfate, which coats the pellets driving the process. Modifications involve the addition of K2Mg2(SO4)3 as a potassium sourceand incorporation of micronutrients.Target compositions will better balance nitrogen and phosphorous levels. Proposed initial NPK targets will be 10-10-0 and 10-10-2.The composition of coated products will be monitored by chemical analysis. Product uniformity and the characteristics of the coated products will include both the bulk chemical analyses and the microscopic comparisons, including electron microscopy and microscopic elemental analysis.