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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Water Management and Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #410836
Research Project: Increased Water Security through Safe Reuse of Reclaimed Water

Location: Water Management and Conservation Research

Title: Mechanochemically synthesized nitrogen-efficient Mg- and Zn-ammonium carbonate fertilizers

Author
item BRONDI, MARIANA - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)
item BORTOLETTO-SANTOS, RICARDO - Federal University - Brazil
item Stiles, Julia
item SANCHEZ FARINAS, CRISTIANE - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)
item AMMAR, MOHAMMED - Lehigh University
item RIBEIRO, CAUE - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)
item Williams, Clinton
item BALTRUSAITIS, JONAS - Lehigh University

Submitted to: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/27/2024
Publication Date: 4/22/2024
Citation: Brondi, M.G., Bortoletto-Santos, R., Stiles, J.F., Sanchez Farinas, C., Ammar, M., Ribeiro, C., Williams, C.F., Baltrusaitis, J. 2024. Mechanochemically synthesized nitrogen-efficient Mg- and Zn-ammonium carbonate fertilizers. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 12(16):6182-6193. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c07785.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c07785

Interpretive Summary: Nitrogen is an essential element for plant productivity. The production of nitrogen fertilizers is a significant consumer of energy and producer of CO2. Currently there are numerous waste streams that contain nitrogen in plant usable forms. The concentration and stabilization of these waste nitrogen streams into fertilizer would lead to more sustainable production. A new synthesis method was developed to produce stable double salts that can be used as fertilizer. The new compounds were characterized and evaluated as a fertilizer. It was found that Mg(NH4)2(CO3)2'4H2O and Zn(NH3)CO3 were the product of the new process. The compounds were found to be environmentally stable and capable of matching nutrient needs of lettuce production. This new production method has the capability of recovering N from liquid digestate sources for use as an agronomic fertilizer.

Technical Abstract: New scalable methods are needed to provide sustainable solutions for nutrient recovery in the form of solid fertilizer materials and their environmental stabilization from anaerobic digestion liquid byproducts. In this work, two nutrient metal containing double salts, Mg(NH4)2(CO3)2'4H2O and Zn(NH3)CO3, were synthesized using naturally abundant Mg- and Zn-carbonate minerals and ammonium (bi)carbonate salts. This constituted a conceptually new synthetic approach, different from the previous work where the aqueous solution was utilized. We also showed that the materials could be easily scaled to 20-gram quantities sufficient for soil testing. The crystalline structure of the resulting materials was confirmed using powder XRD and thermal analysis showed distinctly different properties from those of parent ammonium (bi)carbonates. Accordingly, a reduction in NH3 volatilization in soil was measured with up to 20% more NH4+ recovered after the soil experiments at 80% water holding capacity. Further, inhibition of the agriculture-beneficial bacteria Bacillus subtillis in a nutrient medium was dramatically reduced when compared to the ammonium bicarbonate alone suggesting decreased negative effects on soil biota. Finally, Mg(NH4)2(CO3)2'4H2O and Zn(NH3)CO3 matched the kinetic nitrogen need of the lettuce plants better than the ammonium carbonate control while also keeping it in a form that will be available in the future. The utility of magnesium and zinc double salts in agriculture is paramount if environmentally benign and nutrient-efficient fertilizers from liquid digestate waste are to be enabled.