Soil Regeneration

The development of innovative ecological fertilisers is a rewarding research objective as product improvement and environmental conservation can be achieved at the same time. Chemical fertilisers disturb the natural nutrient balance of the soil. As a result of one-sided over fertilisation and the extraction of trace elements the products are of an inferior quality, can be stored for shorter periods of times and are also less tasty than products treated with ecological fertilisers. With the development of efficient natural fertilising agents it has proved possible to supply plants with the necessary nutrients according to requirements and at the same time to improve the yield quality. More...

Worldwide, around 100 million tonnes of phosphate minerals are mined every year and around 90% of this is processed in the fertiliser industry. At present, phosphorous in fertilisers can be replaced by no other substance. With increasing phosphorous consumption, the conclusion is predictable. How long stocks will last is uncertain. However, it is estimated that the resources will barely last a further 50 years. Meanwhile, as more and more biofuels are being extracted worldwide and the earth is becoming populated with more and more people, phosphorous is more likely to run out than oil. In recent years, phosphorous consumption has risen considerably, not least due to the cultivation of biofuels and the intensification of agriculture. German farmers alone spread 300,000 tonnes of phosphate mineral fertilisers on their fields every year and this is rising. After the oil crisis, we will have to face a new plight: the phosphorous crisis.

China is by far the largest producer of phosphorous, as 80% of all phosphate deposits are found there. However, the country needs phosphorous for its own requirements. This has resulted in the Middle Kingdom increasing export taxes on phosphorous from 20 to 120 % this year. With the increase in the prices of phosphorous, experts now fear a new price push for agricultural commodities. Nonetheless, it is not only the agricultural sector that is affected. Phosphorous is also an important commodity for specialty chemical. Some companies are already announcing price rises. As such, Leverkusen-based special chemistry business Lanxess AG has increased prices for all phosphorous compounds.

The synthetic production of nitrogen fertilisers, of which the constantly rising annual global consumption currently amounts to around 85 m tonnes of nitrogen, is extremely investment and energy intensive. To counter this as much as possible, in the past, ammonia water has been used directly as nitrogen fertiliser for many years. For a number of years, this has no longer been permitted both for ecological reasons and due to other drawbacks.

The search for cheap, solid nitrogen fertilisers has led to ammonium bicarbonate, the use of which covers around half of the entire nitrogen demand in China even today. This fertiliser can be produced relatively cheaply from ammonia and the carbon dioxide (CO²) that occurs from the production of the synthesis gas for the ammonia process, although it comes with considerable drawbacks. At 17.7 %, the nitrogen content is extremely low, so considerable expense must be accepted for storage, transport and application. Additionally, even at ambient temperatures, it tends to decompose into the base materials, so it can be used only in packaged form. Furthermore, in cost effective, modern ammonia plants, which generate the synthesis gas from natural gas, the CO² that occurs is sufficient only for the conversion of around 40 % of the ammonia in ammonium carbonate.

…We are certain it is high time for an ecological soil regenerator!