Waste-Derived Fertiliser Composition With CO2-Binding Nutrients
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need to maximize resource utilization, reduce waste, and enhance crop yield by providing safe and effective fertilizers while minimizing landfill waste and carbon dioxide emissions.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the reaction of ash from organic sources with nitric acid, followed by interaction with amino compounds and carbon dioxide, and optionally incorporating cellulosic fibers to create a fertilizing composition, utilizing waste materials like wood ash and anaerobic digestate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional fertilizers are used to maximize crop yield, then agricultural productivity is improved, but environmental pollution and resource depletion worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent recovers nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) from waste materials such as sewage sludge, food waste, and agricultural residues, transforming them into usable fertilizer components. This prevents nutrient loss to landfills while reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers, thereby maintaining crop yield while decreasing environmental pollution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts harmful waste materials (sewage sludge, food waste, animal manure) into beneficial fertilizer products through controlled decomposition and processing. These waste materials, which would otherwise contribute to pollution, are transformed into nutrient-rich compositions that improve soil health and crop yield while reducing environmental harm.
2Productivity
If synthetic fertilizers are produced to meet increasing food demand, then agricultural productivity is improved, but energy consumption and carbon emissions worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs natural biological processes (aerobic and anaerobic decomposition) to convert organic waste into fertilizer components. These self-organizing biological systems perform nutrient transformation without requiring high-energy industrial synthesis processes, significantly reducing the carbon footprint associated with fertilizer production while maintaining effectiveness for food production.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the production parameters from high-energy synthetic processes to low-energy biological processing conditions. By controlling temperature, moisture, and microbial activity rather than using high-temperature chemical synthesis, the system produces equivalent or superior fertilizer products with minimal energy input and carbon emissions.
3Ease of manufacture
If waste materials are sent to landfill to manage agricultural and municipal waste, then waste management is simplified, but resource loss and environmental pollution worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a multi-functional system that simultaneously manages municipal waste (sewage sludge), agricultural waste (animal manure, crop residues), and food waste. This unified approach converts diverse waste streams into a single valuable fertilizer product, simplifying waste management infrastructure while preventing nutrient loss that would occur in landfilling.
4Reliability
If conventional fertilizer production methods are used to ensure nutrient availability, then crop nutrition is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fertilizer production process into distinct biological stages (aerobic decomposition, anaerobic digestion, composting) that can be independently optimized and controlled. Each stage targets specific nutrient transformations, allowing for modular system design that reduces overall complexity while ensuring reliable nutrient availability in the final fertilizer product.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method produces a highly nutritious fertiliser that efficiently stores carbon dioxide, utilizes waste products, and provides essential plant nutrients without requiring high temperatures or pressures, achieving yields comparable to commercial fertilizers.
Implementation Method 1
contacting (i) ash from an organic source with (ii) a source of nitric acid
Implementation Method 2
contacting (iii) a composition comprising an amino compound with (iv) a composition comprising carbon dioxide
Implementation Method 3
efficiently stores carbon dioxide
Implementation Method 4
optionally incorporating cellulosic fibers to create a fertilizing composition
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A method of producing a fertiliser composition, the method comprising the steps of: (a) contacting (i) ash from an organic source with (ii) a source of nitric acid; (b) contacting (iii) a composition comprising an amino compound with (iv) a composition comprising carbon dioxide; and (c) admixing the composition obtained in step (a) with the composition obtained in step (b).