Evaluation of binder materials for organomineral granulation based on MAP and chicken litter

Reference	Presenter	Authors (Institution)	Abstract
05-005	Carla Oliveira Nascimento	Nascimento, C.O.(Federal University of Bahia); Benites, V.d.(Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation); Fialho, R.L.(Federal University of Bahia); Cabral-Albuquerque, E.d.(Federal University of Bahia); Mattos, B.B.(Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation);	Chicken litter (CL) is a waste generated from the production of chicken that has increased significantly in recent years. Due to its levels of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and other nutrients, the chicken litter can be used as fertilizer, however, its use for this purpose has been threatened because the pollution of water resources owing to the leaching and disposal of these nutrients. One way to minimize these problems and add value to these products is to produce granular organomineral fertilizers (OMF) in order to allow a better utilization of nutrients by plants. However, the low hardness of the OMF is still a limitation for the maintenance of the integrity of the granules during transportation and storage of fertilizers, making it difficult to commercialize them. Thus, this study evaluates the potential of different binder materials in improving the mechanical properties of fertilizers, such as hardness and nutrient release. For this, five different additives were added to the powder mixture containing MAP and chicken litter at concentrations of 0.5, 1, 2 and 3%. The fertilizers were granulated in pelletizing disc, with constant speed and inclination and manual addition of water. After the hardness evaluation in a digital durometer, it was possible to observe that the positive effect on the hardness depended on the additive used and its concentration. Additive 5, which at 3% concentration, was able to increase the granule hardness by up to four times, when compared to the OMF control (CL + MAP), was the most promising in improving the strength of the granules. Another factor evaluated was the release of nutrients, made by means of the dissolution method. The optimization of this mixture, seeking physical improvements at a viable production cost, is the main expected result of this study.
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