The use of experimental design methodology in the formulation of a new additive for the dispersion of elemental sulfur in triple superphosphate fertilizer

Abstract

<p>Yields improvement of the crop depends on many parameters witch each of them acts for a specific manner to boost the plant growth and allow the soil to be more efficient to any kind of plant. Our research is based on the implementation of elemental sulfur into the preparation of triple superphosphate fertilizer and its dispersion into the blend. By adding a small amount of it to the mixture, sulfur particles disperse uniformly by using additives in the phosphate fertilizer.</p><p>This technique is successfully reached by integrating many additives obtained from different chemical industries to spread out the sulfur particle in the fertilizer.</p><p>Several experiments were done by adopting the experimental design methodology (DOE) related to a screening mixture design to select the best surfactant used. So, nine commercial products with different chemical proprieties have been evaluated as a dispersant of elemental sulfur in triple superphosphate fertilizer. First, thanks to the screening mixture design, three products have been chosen for this formulation. Second, by using the mixture design method, new dispersants of elemental sulfur in triple superphosphate fertilizer have been reached. With this method, apart from it is being possible to obtain several dispersants, it is also possible to control the distribution and the average of the particle diameter of the elemental sulfur. Moreover, statistical validation tests confirm the achievement of the sulfur particle size of approximately 1000 µm.</p>