Mechanochemical Synthesis of Zinc Borate for Use as a Dual-Release B Fertilizer

Abstract

This study investigated a mechanochemical method to synthesize a slow-release micronutrient fertilizer containing zinc (Zn) and boron (B). Two reactants ZnO and B 2 O 3 were milled in a ball mill for 4 or 8 h with small quantities of water as part of liquid-assisted grinding, with or without a water-assisted reaction (WAR). The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Low-solubility zinc borate (2ZnO•3B 2 O 3 •7H 2 O), with an octahedral crystal morphology, was successfully synthesized by ball milling and WAR. A column dissolution study showed that the products made by 8 h milling followed by 72 h of WAR exhibited a slow and dual-release pattern of B release, with 26% of the total B released after a 72 h dissolution period. Products made without milling or without WAR showed much faster B release. The proposed synthesis route is a sustainable manufacturing process that is energy efficient and does not generate any noxious effluents, producing a material containing two important micronutrients with a slow release rate.

Solid-State Encapsulation of Urea via Mechanochemistry-Driven Engineering of Metal–Phenolic Networks

“…It is noted that the CRU introduced in the present study can be used for vegetable crops , and is comparable (in terms of the urea release rate) to other controlled-release fertilizers manufactured from hydrophilic biomass compounds. , Moreover, compared to commercial nonbiodegradable polymer-derived coatings for slow-release fertilizers, the process of developing slow-release fertilizers through mechanochemistry-generated MPNs offers several potential benefits. These include simplified and efficient scalability for continuous production, the elimination of problems linked to solvents, and the introduction of micronutrients into the soil. ,,, We are currently further developing the urea–MPN matrices to prolong urea release in extending their suitability for a broader variety of crops.…”

“…These include simplified and efficient scalability for continuous production, the elimination of problems linked to solvents, and the introduction of micronutrients into the soil. 34,36,76,85 We are currently further developing the urea−MPN matrices to prolong urea release in extending their suitability for a broader variety of crops.…”

“…A wide range of organic molecules, metal–organic frameworks, , supramolecular complexes, alloys, zeolites, − main group elements, polymers, covalent organic frameworks, nanoparticles, and carbon materials , have been synthesized via mechanochemistry at both bench and industrial scales for use in various fields. Although the mechanosynthesis of urea ionic cocrystals and mechanochemical activation of layered minerals have been extensively studied for slow-release applications, synthesizing a biomass-based CRU via the mechanochemical approach needs further developmenta comprehensive understanding of the intermolecular interactions between biomass and fertilizers would promote the rational design of tunable advanced CRUs. − …”

Environmentally Friendly Green Synthesis of Fine Particles by Dry Mechanical Processes Toward SDGs: A Review

“…Many researchers have actively challenged to dry mechanochemical synthesis of various high-performance particles from inorganic (Goga et al, 2021;Hlova et al, 2014;Muh'd et al, 2015;Pal et al, 2018;Wu et al, 2021), organic (Oh et al, 2020;Otsuka and Goto, 2022;Zhang et al, 2018) and organic-inorganic (El Ajjouri et al, 2019;Martínez-Sarti et al, 2020;Tanaka et al, 2013) materials, which will probably lead to the achievement of SDGs in future. For example, the development of functional fertilizers by dry mechanochemical syntheses (Alrbaihat et al, 2021;Barčauskaite et al, 2020;Borges et al, 2021;Tan et al, 2021;Zheng et al, 2021) can contribute widely to SDGs such as the goals 2, 8, 9, 12 and 15.…”

Layered Transition Metal Molybdates as New Slow-Release Micronutrient Fertilizer Matrices for Zn, Cu, and Mo

“…First, conventional soluble compounds can be coated with polymers to slow down micronutrient release, either by coating the co-granulated product containing both macronutrients and micronutrients or by encapsulating only the micronutrient compound. , Second, compounds with an intrinsic reduced solubility can be used. Both natural sparingly soluble minerals and novel engineered compounds (e.g., zeolites, biochar, and graphene oxide) have been tested for this application. − More recently, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have gained significant interest as fertilizer compounds for slow release of nutrients. These are layered metal hydroxide materials of divalent and trivalent cations containing electrostatically bound interlayer anions which can slow the release of (i) cationic micronutrients (e.g., Zn and Cu) via controlled dissolution and (ii) anionic micronutrients (e.g., B and Mo) via exchange with counter anions from the soil solution and also via LDH dissolution. − …”