Lecture 30

Compound Fertilizers: Part 1

Compound Fertilizers

The production and marketing of compound fertilizers are unique compared with
commodity type fertilizers such as urea, ammonium phosphates and potash. Unlike
commodity type fertilizers, compound fertilizers are usually manufactured (formulated) to
meet local or regional crop requirements. Often, in addition to containing various ratios of
the primary nutrients (N+P2O5+K2O), they contain certain secondary and micronutrients
specific to the crop needs in a particular agro-climatic region.

Role of compound fertilizers

The decision to use compound fertilizers is usually driven by one or more of the
following factors:

1. Convenience.
2. Crop nutrient needs.
3. Government policy objectives.
4. Economics.

Convenience

Compound fertilizers are frequently used because it is more convenient to purchase,

transport, store and apply one product than several than as is the case if one chooses to use
individual nutrient sources such as urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate and
potash. However, in many instances a single dose of a compound fertilizer will not meet the
nutrient needs of the crop over the entire growing season.
Crop nutrient requirements

Compound fertilizers are often a good choice for providing a basal application of
nutrients, including secondary and micronutrients prior to or at planting time. However,
because most crops benefit from higher doses of nitrogen than other nutrients, the basal
dose of sequent doses of nitrogen timed to meet the nitrogen requirement of the crop.
Additionally, compound fertilizers, especially the homogeneous granulated products as
opposed to dry mixed (blended) compounds, provide a means of uniformity distributing a
basal dose of relatively small quantities of secondary and micronutrients in the soil without
the risk of segregation, which could be detrimental to the crop.

Economics

The simplicity of purchasing, transporting, storing and applying a single compound

product compared with several single or double nutrient materials clearly has economic
merit. However, it is important to note that compound fertilizers, on a nutrient basis, are
almost always more expensive than single nutrient product. Furthermore, the economics of
fertilizer use must be viewed in a holistic way; not only the cost of the fertilizer but also the
cost of labor, fuel, water, and pest control and of course the price received for the crop must
be considered. Therefore, the increased cost of compound fertilizers compared with the
usually less costly single or double nutrient products may not be overriding significance.

Finally, compound fertilizers are uniquely suited for the fertilization of plantation
crops (for example, oil palm and rubber) and forests using aerial application techniques.
Large, free lowing granules of homogeneous compound fertilizer facilitate uniform
distribution and penetration of the plantation or forest canopy. Aerial application, and
therefore the increased need for homogeneous compound fertilizers, is expected to increase
in the plantation sector as the cost of labor and conventional application of single nutrient
materials continue to increase.
Compound fertilizer production technology

The method used for granule formation has a pronounced impact on the design and
operation of the granulation process equipment. Therefore, a good knowledge of the
mechanisms of granule formation, growth and consolidation is essential in determining the
design features of the granulation process. The following is a brief description of the two
major granule formation mechanisms encountered in most fertilizer granulation processes.

Agglomeration type processes

With most granular NPK products (excluding the slurry based nitro phosphate type
processes), agglomeration is the principal mechanism responsible for initial granule
formation and subsequent growth. In most agglomeration type NPK formulations, 50%-
75% of the raw materials are fed as dry solids. These particles are assembled and joined
into agglomerates (granules) by a combination of mechanical interlocking and cementing
much as stonemason fashions a stone wall by using stones of various size and shapes and
mortar as the cementing agent. The cementing medium for fertilizer granules is derived
from salt solutions, for example, pre-neutralized phosphate slurry and/or the dissolution of
salts on the moist surface of the double solid particles. The size, shape, surface texture,
strength and solubility of the solid particles vary widely and have a profound influence on
the granulation characteristics of the mixture.

Accretion type processes

Accretion refers to the process in which layer upon layer of a fluid material (for
example, an ammonium phosphate slurry) is applied to a solid particle causing it to grow in
size. The slurry type granulation processes used to produce DAP, MAP, TSP and some
nitro phosphate compounds are examples of accretion type granulation processes. The
accretion is quite different from the agglomeration process with respect to the mechanism
of granule formation and growth. As a result, the required process parameters for optimum
operation of this slurry type accretion granulation, processes are often quite different from
those used in agglomeration processes. With a slurry type granulation process, a relatively
thin film of moist slurry, or a nearly anhydrous melt, is repeatedly applied, dried, and
hardened to relatively firm substrate consisting of granules that are often product size or
nearly product size. In this process; layer upon layer of new material is applied to a particle,
giving the final granule an onion skin like structure. In the process, of course some
agglomeration of particles also occurs, but this is not the predominant granule formation
mechanism.

The recycle to product ratio required for accretion type granulation is normally
higher than that required for agglomeration type processes. Accordingly, for a given
production rate, the material handling capacity of the process equipment must be larger for
accretion type granulation plants than for most agglomeration type plants. However,
because of particular temperature and relative humidity related processing requirements for
some agglomerated NPKs, certain equipment especially the dryer and process cooler, may
actually be larger in some agglomeration type plants to achieve the same production rate as
in the accretion type processes.

Granules formed by accretion are almost always harder, more spherical, and more
durable than those formed by agglomeration. For example, atypical well formed NPK, DAP
or TSP granule produced by accretion type granulation may have a crushing strength of an
agglomerated granule may not only be less ( often less than 3 kg) but also more variable
depending upon its raw material composition and a number of specific factors related to
granule formation.