THE ASSESSMENT OF ORGANIC AND NATURAL MAGNESIUM MINERAL FERTILIZERS GRANULATION AND THE DETERMINATION OF PRODUCED PELLET PROPERTIES

Abstract

The research was carried out in Aleksandras Stulginskis University with a natural magnesium mineral fertilizer – magnesium silicate Serpentine rocks that were grounded and granulated with an impact granulation technology, organic cattle manure compost fertilizer, which was granulated using a device with a horizontal granulator matrix (the diameter of pellets is 6 mm), and the mixture of Serpentine and manure pellets (mixture ratio 1:1, diameter of pellets is6 mm). There were investigated and estimated the biometric and physical-mechanical properties of produced fertilizer granules – pellet granulometric composition and biometric indicators, moisture content, density and pellet strength (resistance to impact forces). Research results showed that the pellet moisture content was sufficiently low, varied from 4.7 % to 14.7 %, and the density of produced pellet was considerably high as it reached more than 1000 kg m^-3 DM (dry matter). Results on resistance to the deformation of the investigated mineral magnesium and organic fertilizers indicate that the most resistant granules are the ones that are made of the mixture of Serpentine and manure pellets as they decompose to 550.5 N force, whereas granules of manure pellets (without Serpentine) disintegrate to a 271.4 N force, which is about twice as small as the above mentioned one. Research results have shown that fertilizer granules made of organic manure and mixture with magnesium silicate Serpentine are of high quality, these granules are sufficiently resistant to compression on a static force as well as convenient for storage, transportation and mechanical spreading in the field. 

Keywords: density, granules, magnesium fertilizers, manure, organic fertilizers, properties, serpentine, strength

Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.040