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One of the biggest problems of any agricultural product, but especially fertilizer, is run-off. That’s a lot of time, crop assistance, and money that simply doesn’t make it to the plant, and instead pollutes nearby eco-systems. But now a team of agrichemical researchers claims to have made a major breakthrough by coating the urea the plant needs onto nano-particles of an organic mineral called hydroxyapatite. Early field results on rice indicate that the method can halve fertilizer usage through the technique’s slow release system.

The online journal, ScienceDaily, outlined the problem, stating that, “Farmers often use urea, a rich source of nitrogen, as fertilizer. Its flaw, however, is that it breaks down quickly in wet soil and forms ammonia. The ammonia is washed away, creating a major environmental issue as it leads to eutrophication of water ways and ultimately enters the atmosphere as nitrogen dioxide, the main greenhouse gas associated with agriculture. This fast decomposition also limits the amount of nitrogen that can get absorbed by crop roots and requires farmers to apply more fertilizer to boost production.”

While coating nano-particles with chemicals has been known by chemical engineers as a useful tool for a long time, until now the method has largely been confined to the pharmaceutical industry. However, little research has been done to use it as a way to apply chemicals to crops, which is surprising given the global expenditure on fertilizer and the problems much of the third world, often living on land that needs fertilizer the most, has in buying sufficient agricultural products.

But now a team has outlined the revolutionary process in a press release to the American Chemical Society, which states how, “The researchers developed a simple and scalable method for coating hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles with urea molecules. HA is a mineral found in human and animal tissues and is considered to be environmentally friendly. In water, the hybridization of the HA nanoparticles and urea slowly released nitrogen, 12 times slower than urea by itself.”

The full report has now been published in the journal ACS Nano, which explains how in the study, “the high solubility of urea molecules has been reduced by incorporating it into a matrix of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles have been selected due to their excellent biocompatibility while acting as a rich phosphorus source. In addition, the high surface area offered by nanoparticles allows binding of a large amount of urea molecules. The method reported here is simple and scalable, allowing the synthesis of a urea-modified hydroxyapatite nanohybrid as fertilizer having a ratio of urea to hydroxyapatite of 6:1 by weight. Specifically, a nanohybrid suspension was synthesized by in situ coating of hydroxyapatite with urea at the nanoscale. In addition to the stabilization imparted due to the high surface area to volume ratio of the nanoparticles, supplementary stabilization leading to high loading of urea was provided by flash drying the suspension to obtain a solid nanohybrid. This nanohybrid with a nitrogen weight of 40% provides a platform for its slow release.”

It is this slow release that allows the Sri Lankan based team to report that, “Initial field tests on rice farms showed that the HA-urea nanohybrid lowered the need for fertilizer by one-half.”

The research was based on the team’s earlier work from 2011, which had already established the potential success of a system where, “urea-modified hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were encapsulated under pressure into cavities of the soft wood of Gliricidia sepium.” This “urea-modified HA nanoparticle-encapsulated Gliricidia sepium nanocomposite” was then applied to the soil and gave a more effective release of nitrogen than the control commercially available fertilizer. As shown in the graphic below.

You can download a copy of this earlier 2011 study on pdf here.

While it is still too early to claim that global fertilizer sales can be expected to be halved, the research is finding significant interest among agricultural specialists. Seemingly the process is easily scalable, and the new product applicable to all major crops. The technique also includes the added bonus that using Hydroxyapatite will act as a source of phosphorous.

Further testing is now required, before all parties are satisfied of the success of the method. But if it is verified that the process leads to a 50% reduction in fertilizer use, then all agrichem dealers and urea traders might be asking is, “Can I double the price?”

Photo credit: Guru Ghasidas University, India

There is a new movement making waves in suburbia. It is a force for good that is applying common sense to the way we live our lives, and to the way that we raise our children. It is a way of thinking that reduces fear, and instead applies common sense to everyday problems. Interestingly, it is having great success in allaying people’s fear of industrial chemicals.

It is being lead by the wonderfully named Julie Gunlock, and her book, ‘From Cupcakes to Chemicals’, and is based on a healthy examination of the risks in daily life coupled with a common-sense look at the dangers that the chemicals in our lives present.

One of the more amusing and yet relevant stories from the book, includes that tale of how the author was watching a news report on the dangers of drinking water from a garden hose. Where she writes that, “The news story centered on the fact that most garden hoses are made of polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC. PVC has high levels of lead and other chemicals and, therefore, the claim was that since children and pets sometimes drink from garden hoses, they were getting big doses of toxins when taking the occasional sip.”

Gunlock then continues to question the logic behind the news story, asking, “Most garden hoses are indeed made of polyvinyl chloride, which is toxic if consumed in large quantities. Yet it is impossible — let me repeat that word, impossible — for a human to consume enough water to reach toxic levels of PVC exposure. Why is this impossible? Because the amount of chemical that leaches into the water is so minuscule that a person would have to consume massive amounts of garden hose water in order for it to be a problem. And if a person attempted to drink the amount of water required to reach PVC toxicity, they’d first die of dilutional hyponatremia — death by water overdose.”

Gunlock goes on to explain the real tragedy of this case, and of chemophobia in general, and that is the fear that people are living with. They worry that the ‘bogeyman’ (a.k.a. industrial chemical manufacturers) will get them and their children. Their lives are hampered by this fear, and as a result, their children’s youth is restricted.

Is Fake News to Blame for Chemophobia?

A fair analysis of the garden hose news story would not make for much of a story. ‘Garden hoses safe to drink from; shock!’ does not sell newspapers, or drive traffic to a website. Instead, to fill a paper’s column inches or to act as ‘clickbait’, journalists are content to fly in the face of logic.

Creating half-true stories is something that has an impact on everyday lives, as Gunlock writes, “Alarmist warnings often distract parents from the real dangers and legitimate risks facing kids. Nervous parents who feel overwhelmed by the conflicting reports about what’s safe and what’s not deserve a little honesty and should be spared the constant drum beat of hysteria that comes from environmental, food and public health nannies.”

There has been much written about fake news stories in the media since the Brexit referendum and Trump’s presidential election victory. The reporting is as if this is a new phenomenon, a product of the digital age that is only now altering public opinion. But given the decades of negative news against the chemical industry, and the continued, irrational presence of chemophobia, perhaps fake news stories are not as new as we might think.

Photo credit: https://openparachute.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/the-toxicity-of-chemophobia/chemophobia/

Researchers have developed an environmentally-friendly air filter made from simple soy proteins. Better still, the research team claims that the design is more effective at catching particles than regular air filters, and is specifically able to capture gaseous particles such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. This makes the discovery not only timely, given the impact that air pollution is having on major cities throughout the world, but also ideal for the growing chemical industry or those who live near industrialized areas.

The online scientific journal, Phys.org, notes how the breakthrough was made by, “… researchers from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, and [a team from] the Washington State University, including Weihong (Katie) Zhong, professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and graduate student Hamid Souzandeh,” who, they explain, “used a pure soy protein along with bacterial cellulose for an all-natural, biodegradable, inexpensive air filter.”

While the use of such natural materials may seem obvious from an environmental perspective, the Washington State University website also outlines the economic advantages and logical thinking behind such a decision, stating that, “The soy protein and cellulose are cost effective and already used in numerous applications, such as adhesives, plastic products, tissue regeneration materials and wound dressings. [Furthermore] Soy contains a large number of functional chemical groups – it includes 18 types of amino groups, with each of the chemical groups having the potential to capture passing pollution at the molecular level.”

As Zhong notes, “We can take advantage of those chemical groups to grab the toxics in the air.”

She and her fellow researchers have now published their results in the journal, Composites Science and Technology, reporting that, “…conventional petroleum-based and chemically synthesized polymers [currently used in] commercial air filters are not eco-friendly materials and can cause secondary environmental pollution. To address this serious issue, the development of an environmentally friendly and multi-functional air filtering material is a critical need. In this study, soy protein isolate (SPI) and bacterial cellulose (BC) are employed to study the potential of biomaterials as high efficiency air filtering materials. Soy protein isolate contains many functional groups on its structure and these functional groups were exposed for interactions with pollutants via a denaturation process using acrylic acid treatment. The 3D nano-network of BC contributes to the preliminary physical capturing of PM particles, while the functional groups of SPI further attract the PM particles via electrostatic attraction and dipole interaction between the filter materials and the PM particles.”

The results from the study proved promising, claiming that, “The SPI/BC composite with an appropriately modified SPI possesses extremely high removal efficiencies for particulate pollutants with a broad range of sizes: 99.94% and 99.95% for PM_2.5 removal efficiency and PM₁₀, respectively, under extremely hazardous air conditions, while maintaining a very high air penetration rate of 92.63%.”

While naturally pleased with the added effectiveness of the soy-protein air filter, Zhong was keen to underline the advantages the filter had over those currently in use, saying, “Typical air filters, which are usually made of micron-sized fibers of synthetic plastics, physically filter the small particles but aren’t able to chemically capture gaseous molecules. Furthermore, they’re most often made of glass and petroleum products, which leads to secondary pollution.”

She also notes that there is a clear market for her product, saying, “Air pollution is a very serious health issue. If we can improve indoor air quality, it would help a lot of people.”

With this in mind, the team are continuing their work as they believe there are real practical advantages to their design of chemical filter, as the Phys.org explains, “In addition to the soy-based filters, the researchers have also developed gelatin- and cellulose-based air filters. They are also applying the filter material on top of low-cost and disposable paper towels to reinforce and improve its performance. They have filed patents on the technology and are interested in commercialization opportunities.”

Given that regular air filters are not especially efficient, and are generally aimed at removing larger pollutant particles, the fact that an improved device has arrived at a time when public awareness of the dangers of air pollution is higher than ever is significant. Even more important, is the fact that the filter is able to remove, “hazardous gaseous molecules, such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide and other volatile organic compounds.” Meanwhile its low cost and environmentally-friendly credentials are sure to have customers lining up for fresher air.

Photo credit: Elsevier B.V.