MXPA01011138A - Compost granulation method - Google Patents

Abstract

Method of granulating compost for the formulation of fertilizers. In one embodiment, the compost is ground to dust and pan granulated. A variety of ancillary materials may be incorporated into the compost mix for a wide range of possible applications. An embodiment is provided where agricultural seeds may be encapsulated in compost to enhance the quality of seed and reduce wastage during planting.

Description

COMPOSTA GRANULATION METHOD TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the granulation of compost materials and, more particularly, the present invention relates to a method for producing high quality granulated compost and multi-component compost granules for application as a fertilizer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The technique of granulation is a mature technique and significant advances have recently been made thanks to Derdall et al., Patent of the United States of America number 5,460,765, granted on October 24, 1995 and, subsequently, by means of Phinney in the patent of the United States of America number 6,013,209 granted on January 11, 2000. With reference to Derdall et al., This exhibition provides teachings that advance this technique by demonstrating that an ultra-fine powder (mesh -200, 0.07 mm) it does not cause the nucleation of the powder, but rather results in the adhesion of the material to large round glomeruli. This process is not different from the proverbial growth of the snowball. The technique invented by Derdall et al. Clearly provides excellent process control, necessary to effectively maximize contact of the fine particles with the binder. As a result, binder additions of 5% and less are used in an ordinary manner when the prior art requires approximately twice this amount. As it is evident, if the amount of binder can be reduced, the amount of raw material in the particle can be increased, which in turn provides an improved glomerulus or granule. The Derdall et al. Process established that a significantly large seed or crystal is critical for making the granule formulation in one step. Although this is a significant advance in the art, it does not contemplate the granulation of materials directly in the tray. If a mixture of material containing the raw material is to be granulated and moisture is supplied in a pre-moistened mixture, the seed or nucleating agent is not effectively present. This material is then used directly in the tray containing the powdered raw material to facilitate the development of a granule. Derdall and collaborators significantly advanced the granulation technique by demonstrating that powder material could be granulated, provided that a seed material was used as the initiator for the growth of the particle. Prior to the applicant's efforts, Derdall and co-workers effectively taught the state of the art and it is an extremely useful process when seed material can be used to form a granule. These granules have at the center of the same obvious nuclei. In the art, it has been generally recognized that any larger particle of +150 mesh (0.10 mm) and -100 (0.14 mm) causes excessive nucleation or over-nucleation in the tray, which inevitably leads to the particles adhering forming agglomerated groups. This leads to the conclusion that in order to prepare a sufficiently strong glomerulus a binder must be present in an amount generally of between 4% to 10% in order to effect the proper adhesion of the materials in a consolidated particle. The reference by Derdall et al. Clearly teaches that stability problems exist with the process if seed that exceeds certain size parameters is used. In summary, Derdall and collaborators were the first to provide a process for granulating powdered material. Moving on to the Phinney exhibition, an advance was provided with respect to the one initially demonstrated by Derdall et al. In the Phinney patent, it was found that if a nucleating agent was to be used, which is effectively a powder in the range of mesh sizes -35 (0.5 mm) to 150 (0.10 mm), a seed could be developed, and This is composed of the same material as the final product in a size distribution of approximately -8 mesh (2.38 mm) to +4 (4.8 mm). The distinction between Derdall et al. And Phinney's patent lies in the fact that Phinney recognized that seed is not initially required to perform the granulation; the seed could be formulated by using an initial nucleating agent in the form of a powder to formulate a seed first, which could subsequently grow in additional granulation operations. This resulted in important advantages, in terms of the quality of the final product. One of the important advantages is directed to the resistance of the particle and to the uniform accretion of material around the seed. In view of the fact that the nucleation material actually used was of infinitesimal size, the Phinney granules did not effectively have a nucleus with respect to the particles produced by the method of Derdall et al. In this way, the particles produced according to the Phinney methodology provide particles having a uniform and uninterrupted cross section. In accordance with the above, a greater content of raw material could be included in each granule or glomerulus. The references of Phinney and Derdall et al. Have provided significant knowledge in the granulation technique with respect to materials having a rather high bulk density. In the case of these references, as an example of what could be granulated, sulfur has been illustrated. Sulfur has a fairly high bulk density, of about 30 to 35 pounds per cubic foot (Ib ft. 3) This bulk density has a particle size between about 180 mesh (0.085 mm) and 300 mesh (0.04 mm) At this bulk density, there is sufficient mass to allow granulation of the product.It has been found that this is not the case with all materials and problems can arise when the bulk density falls from the value indicated for sulfur to, for example, The compost material granulation presents unusual complications.The compost material, when sprayed, is extremely light, hydrophobic and the individual particles repel each other by electrostatic interaction.The apparent density of the compost is approximately 20 Ib ft "3 to approximately 25 Ib ft" 3, which corresponds to a particle size generally of approximately between 240 mesh (0.055 mm) and 400 (0) .03 mm) This level of dust, considered together with the properties of the compost, the techniques established in the prior art and, particularly, the references of Derdall et al. And Phinney, require the modification in certain circumstances to effect the granulation of this valuable agronomic compound. In the prior art the proposal has been made to granulate compost with the concept of coating or encapsulating seeds in some other way to protect them until such time as they are desired to be used to make them germinate. What is typical of the prior art in this field includes the process set forth in United States Patent No. 3,905,796, issued in September 1975 to Ghelfi. The presentation teaches a process to dehydrate fertilizers based on fertilizer, when a homogeneous and durable paste is granulated and dried. U.S. Patent No. 4,082,532, issued to Imhof, on April 4, 1978, presents a process for manufacturing extruded cattle manure glomeruli, where the cattle manure is mixed to form a paste having a content of humidity between 50 and 55% by weight. The material is extruded to form strands that subsequently fragment into smaller shapes. In this reference and in the aforementioned reference, there is no description regarding the use of additional agricultural additives to the compost and very few details with respect to the granulation. In the present application it has been stated that once the compost material has been dried and sprayed, it is difficult to wet this material in the absence of a surfactant. The references described so far do not touch the subject in any way, and they only provide generic teachings regarding granulation. Davis, in U.S. Patent No. 5,043,007, provides a process for the production of a fertilizer or the fertilizer is a fertilizer without binder. The presentation provides a seed material and primary and secondary nutrient sources that are placed in a mixer under heating conditions until the pulp is formed. The pulp is transferred to a dryer and the product dried under vacuum, after which it is cooled to produce a granular or semigranular fertilizer with a nucleus of seed material and a coating of a secondary nutrient crystallized around it. In the Patent of the United States of America 52/149 number 5,725,630, issued to Roberts et al. On March 10, 1998, a plant for fertilizers is exposed, as well as a dry granular fertilizer. The granular fertilizer contains a C1-C6 alkanoic acid or a salt of this compound added to a dry carrier form of the granular fertilizer. This is a simple coating process and does not provide a granule that has auxiliary or secondary fertilizer compounds uniformly granulated therein. Turning to a further prior art in the field of fertilizer / seed encapsulation, U.S. Patent No. 4,779,376, issued to Redenbaugh on October 25, 1998, presents a method of encapsulating botanical seeds, wherein the Seed is encapsulated in a hydrogel capsule saturated with water. Johnson et al., In U.S. Patent No. 3,648,409, issued March 14, 1972, shows a vehicle or carrier process resistant to herbicides to manufacture the product. A method is presented and a herbicide-resistant wafer encloses a seed and a blended vermiculite mixture of water-soluble nutrient and activated carbon, which is subsequently compressed to the desired shape, in this case, a wafer.

Other references generally related to the coating or encapsulation of seeds include the United States of America patents. 4,759,151, 5,849,320, 3,950,891, 3,905,152, 5,435,821 and 3,651,772. The prior art, when taken alone or in combination, does not provide any specific teaching for the granulation of powdered compost material, which may include auxiliary fertilizers, materials for prolonged release or other suitable additives, well known in the art. of the granulation. In addition, the fact that there are no teachings regarding the granulation of the compost, it is also stated that the revised technique fails to provide a granulated product having an encapsulated seed therein, while still retaining the desirable properties, such as they can be: the roundness, the resistance to the rupture of the particle, the solvation index, and so on. It would be desirable to have a method, as well as a product aimed at increasing soil fertilization, where the fertilizer consists of compost material in a powder form at the mesh level -150 (0.10 mm) or less, which can be cogranulated with additional fertilizer materials, such as the known fertilizers described below, without the problem of the hydrophobicity of the compost powder. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention has application in the fertilizer technique.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is proportional- "an improved method for granulating powdered compost in the absence of a nucleating material, seed material or other initiator." An additional object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide A method for encapsulating, by granulation, agricultural seeds for the purpose of encapsulating the seed An object of the present invention is to provide a method for granulating compost material, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing a supply of compost material pulverized and dried in a 90% smaller size distribution of mesh -150 (0.10 mm), form a wet mixture of dry and powdered compost and binder containing moisture, the mixture contains up to 11% by weight of moisture in the mixture and surfactant; mixing the mixture sufficiently to reverse the hydrophobicity of the pulverized compost material, wherein the pulverized compost material absorbs moisture from the binder and forms a flowable composite; granulate the mixture forming granules in the tray by contacting the mixture with additional binder material and a surfactant; and forming compost granules with a mesh size distribution -3 (5 mm) to +12 (1.68 mm). Advantageously, the compost is sterilized when it is heated and pulverized and, therefore, odor and pathogens are not a problem. This also allows the use of compost from any source, including that of animals, plants or combinations thereof. In view of the hydrophobicity of the powdered compost, it has been found that by providing a moisture free content of up to 11% by weight in the tray, that the process will be viable and will produce granules. In this way, it is an essential feature of the present case to include a surfactant to reduce the surface tension of the compost powder and, thereby, allow the granulation to occur directly on the tray, in the absence of any nucleation material or other initiators of the particle growth. The right surfactants will be appreciated 52/149 by those skilled in the art. This type of process is effective to granulate the compost in a large percentage by weight. The technique has established the use of a nucleating agent to granulate the feed material under "dry" conditions. This was established in the Phinney United States Patent, mentioned above. In the Derdall et al. Patent, reference was also made to this type of condition. In further advances made by Phinney and, particularly, those set forth in PCT publication, PCT / CA 99/00300, (International Publication No. WO 99/54029 published October 28, 1999), it was established that tray granulation could be performed by simply providing a wet mixture (a mixture containing moisture, raw material and surfactant) and by contacting this wet mixture with the raw material in the tray. This resulted in the formation of granules directly on the tray, in the absence of a nucleating or seed agent. In this way, the granulation could be done by eliminating the step of the formulation of a seed. As described briefly in the above, the compost presents the process designer with new complications, in view of the properties of the compost.

S2 / 149 The bulk density has been mentioned previously, as well as other properties that complicate the granulation process. In view of the properties, direct granulation in a tray, such as that established in the PCT publication, is not convenient. Considering the other existing dry methodology, particularly the preformulation of a seed by a unit operation of nucleation, this is also unsatisfactory, in view of the properties of the compost. The material does not lead to the preparation of a nucleation material in view of the size distribution of these agents. This is partly due to the fact that the pulverized compost presents the problem of hydrophobicity, as well as the complication due to the electrostatic interaction. Simply thanks to these properties, a material that is inherently self-repellent and hydrophobic, can not be effectively granulated to form glomeruli as a nucleation material and, with greater certainty, neither as a seed with the ultimate goal of generating an acceptable granule in the market . In the present case, the full recognition of the properties of the compost has been combined with the extensive experience in engineering to overcome the complications inherent in the granulation of compost. It is well accepted that the Derdall et al. Method, as well as the Phinney method, have resulted in significant advances in the art. In spite of this, none of the methods is particularly well adapted to the granulation of compost, since these references had to do mainly with the granulation of materials of greater apparent density that have additional properties different from those of the compost. In the case where it would be desirable to form a larger granule for a particular use, a multi-phase granulation process can be followed. The larger granules can be applied in the fertilizer industry for golf courses. It is desirable to have larger granules for prolonged release purposes. According to the technique established by Derdall et al. And Phinney, the material that will be granulated in the tray will be balanced in a certain size distribution, depending on the speed of rotation of the tray, the inclination of the tray and the passage of the same among a multitude of other factors. Thus, in certain circumstances, there is a need to use a second tray for additional material accretion. According to the above and in accordance with a further objective of a modality, a method is provided for granulating compost material, characterized 52/149 because the method comprises the steps of: providing a supply of pulverized and dry compost material in a size distribution of 90% smaller than mesh -150 (0.10 mm); forming a wet mixture of dry and powdered compost and binder containing moisture, the mixture contains up to 11% by weight of moisture; mixing the mixture sufficiently to reverse the hydrophobicity of the pulverized compost material, wherein the pulverized compost material absorbs moisture from the binder and forms a flowable composite; granulate in a first stage the mixture forming granules in the tray by means of the contact of the mixture with additional binder material and a surfactant, the granules are in a size distribution between mesh -3 (5 mm) and +12 (1.68 mm) ), and include at least one particle fraction in a mesh size distribution of -8 (2.38 mm) to +12 (1.68 mm); granulate the fraction of 8 mesh particles (2.38 mm) and 12 mesh (1.68 mm) in a second stage, through contact with the mixture and additional binder; and forming compost granules with a mesh size distribution of -3 (5 mm) to +8 (2.38 mm). In some situations, it is desirable to have a quite considerable granule, beyond what was exposed in the aforementioned object. From the procedural point of view, the mesh granules -3 (5 mm) to +8 (2.38 mm) can grow further to a size distribution of 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) or greater. This can be achieved by using a drum granulator. The drum would perform similar unit operations, such as the addition of binder, surfactants, mixing with the binder, to achieve the growth of the granule to 1/2 inch (1.3 cm). As will be immediately appreciated by those skilled in the art, no matter the specific order of the binder or surfactant that will be added to the granulation tray, the point here is that the tray material must have an adequate supply of surfactant to effect granulation together with binder to adhere the compost mixture. In this way, the binder surfactant can be mixed and added to create a moisture content of up to 11% by weight or these can be added simultaneously separately. Again, those skilled in the art will appreciate the variants. As an additional application, the technology disclosed herein is well suited to the encapsulation of agricultural seed material and, in accordance with 52/149 this, a further object of the present invention, in accordance with a further embodiment, is to provide a method for encapsulating an agronomic seed with compost material to form a granular glomerulus, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing a supply of dry and pulverized compost material, pulverized to powder in a size distribution of 90% less than mesh -150 (0.10 mm); provide a supply of agronomic seeds; forming a wet mixture of dry powdered compost and binder containing moisture, the mixture contains up to 11% by weight of moisture; mixing the mixture sufficiently to reverse the hydrophobicity of the pulverized compost material, wherein the pulverized compost material absorbs moisture from the binder and forms a fluid composite; provide a granulation tray; to put the tray in contact with the agronomic seeds; put the tray in contact with the mixture; and granulating the mixture around the seeds in the tray by contacting the mixture with the seeds; Y 52/149 form glomeruli of agronomic seeds encapsulated with compost. Any seed material could be encapsulated. Examples of suitable seeds that would particularly benefit from encapsulation are light seeds that are normally released from the air, including canola seeds, canary seed, rapeseed, among others. This is problematic, since the seeds, which are quite light, are often dragged out of their course with respect to their intended location and this adds significant costs to the farmer. In addition, in many countries, the "broadcast sowing" of seeds for planting crops is becoming very unpopular. By encapsulating these seeds, dough is added, the seed is protected and there is an inherent separation provided by the granulation of material between the seeds when planted. One of the particularly attractive features of seed encapsulation is that the compost material acts effectively as a fertilizer for the seed and, thus, provides a seed with its own fertilizer. Additionally, with the condition of adding additional suitable fertilizer materials described herein, a more desirable product results. 52/149 1 $ Fertilizer salts can not be placed too close to the seed. The osmotic pressure of these salts is very high and the seeds will not germinate. The 1-1-1-1 in the compost is in humates that the plant receives easily without changing the osmotic pressure. Advantageously, the methodology has resulted in more than 30% of the granules containing a single seed. In addition, the encapsulation automatically provides the seed with nutrients and humates and, considering the size of the particle (6 mesh (3.36 mm) to 8 (2.38 mm)), small seeds will not be wasted during planting. The coating also ensures the fluidity of the seeds that otherwise would not flow, to allow greater ease of handling and transport. Normal costs for overseeding or overseeding in Canada could be as high as 50%. With seed costs of $ 500 per ton, a saving of 50% is important. It is well known in agriculture that seeds should have a uniform separation to maximize yield. If there are many plants very close to each other, the yield is reduced significantly. The present invention eliminates this waste to provide a cost-effective seeding method. 52/149 In another application, the agronomic seed can be replaced by a suie fertilizer material. Accordingly, an additional object of another embodiment is to provide a method for granulating compost material, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing a supply of dry and pulverized compost material, pulverized to powder in a size distribution of the 90% less than -150 mesh (0.10 mm); provide a supply of a fertilizer material as a sowing agent; forming a wet mixture of powdered and dry compost and binder containing moisture, the mixture contains up to 11% by weight of moisture; mixing the mixture sufficiently to reverse the hydrophobicity of the pulverized compost material, wherein the pulverized compost material absorbs moisture from the binder and forms a fluid composite; provide a granulation tray; put the tray in contact with the fertilizer material; put the tray in contact with the mixture; and granulating the mixture around the fertilizer material in the tray by contacting the mixture with the sowing agent; and forming glomeruli of fertilizer material encapsulated with the compost. A further object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a granule of granular compost, characterized in that the granule comprises: an agronomic seed; and granulated compost material around it. Another additional object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a composite granule, characterized in that the granule comprises: a homogeneous mixture of compost and fertilizer. Another additional object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a composite compost granule, characterized in that the granule comprises: a core of central fertilizer; and granulated compost material around it. The advantages attribue to the products formed in accordance with the methods are numerous and include the following: a. the product is granulated dry; b. the particle size can be adapted for specific uses; 52/149 c. transport is greatly simplified, with respect to conventional compost; d. the granules help the soil retain moisture by increasing the humic content, thus improving drought tolerance, while providing the benefit of crop growth; and. drainage is avoided along with the concomitant loss of nutrients; F. soil exchange and buffer capacity are improved; g. the product is not toxic and does not burn; h. provides the soil with a sustained long-term benefit, as opposed to the relatively short-term benefit of chemical fertilizers; i. provides a supply of insoluble nitrogen in water that is released over a long period of time; # j. it provides the opportunity to combine the two positive aspects of the synergistic benefit of organic and inorganic fertilizer, in view of cogranulation; and k. the simplified application, which is more precise and less wasteful, with respect to "broadcast" sowing. An additional object of a modality of the 25 present invention is to provide a composite granule, characterized in that the granule comprises: an agronomic seed in a mesh size distribution of +35 (0.5 mm) and -8 mesh (2.38 mm); a composite material laminated thereon, forming a granule having therein an encapsulated seed, in a size distribution of between 6 mesh (3.36 mm) and 8 mesh (2.38 mm). Having described the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a process suitable for granulating the compost, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of an alternate process useful for granulating the compost according to the present invention; and Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of an additional process useful for granulating the compost, according to the present invention. Similar numbers that are used in the text denote similar elements. 52/149 PREFACE The mesh referred to herein refers to the standard Tyler sieve scale. NPKS refers to nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur, as will be recognized by those experienced in the field of agricultural engineering. The percent content refers to a percentage based on weight, unless otherwise indicated. The speed, angle and inclination of the tray can be variable and will depend on the design parameters required by the granules formed. The specific values are within the scope of anyone with experience.

BEST FORM FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Before referring to the details of the invention, it is important to note that granulation in a tray of compost material, plants or animals, had not been proposed previously, in view of the fact that when the pulverized material has an extremely low bulk density, generally in the order of approximately 20 to 25 Ib ft. "3 To complicate this, the pulverized compost is very hydrophobic, inherently resilient due to its fibrous nature and, therefore, difficult to compress and is also self-repellent from the electrostatic point of view. 52/149 Having this panacea of inherent complications, granulation in a tray of compost material, which in particular considers the bulk density, does not lead to the formation of a glomerulus that rolls on the tray. Wetting, growth and consolidation of materials is not a trivial matter and references to the prior art do not facilitate the process. It has been found, by experimentation, that if the apparent density of the compost can be increased sufficiently, a glomerulus will form and can grow by accretion of additional compost material or auxiliary fertilizer compounds. Successful discussion has been made by forming a mixture having the pulverized compost material, a suitable surfactant and binder material. The surfactant contributes by decreasing the surface tension of the compost, thus allowing moisture, binder and additional compost material to mix. Once mixed, the mixture can be granulated in a tray with the addition of additional binder, which can be composed of the same binder material of the mixture. The addition of additional binder may be in the form of an aerosol application, known in the art. As an example, the granulation may come from 52/149 according to the procedure set forth with respect to Figure 1. Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown a schematic overall representation of a granulation process by means of which compost granules can be formed. The reference number 10 denotes the introduction of the compost feed. The technology discussed here allows the formation of almost any granulated compost product, including mixtures of various sulfates, sodium carbonate, sulfur, potash, kaolin, magnesia, sodium, potassium and ammonium chloride, phosphate compounds, blood meals, among others. The compost feed and the binder are introduced into a sprayer 12 to spray the feed, such that a product having a size distribution of 90% less than -150 mesh (0.10 mm) is produced. An important portion is mesh -200 (0.07 mm). The sprayer 12 may be a classifying sprayer or a spray with air sweep or any other suitable sprayer known to those skilled in the art. Once pulverized, the stream of compost, represented in general by the number 14, is introduced into a sealed collection hopper, denoted globally by the number 16, 52/149 which includes a bag filter 18 for collecting dust. The collection hopper 16 includes a valve 20 suitable for dosing the powder to a collection tank 22. The tank 22 communicates with the mixer 23 to mix the binder (approximately 58% solids). In the example, the binder used was a thick lignosulfonate solution. After a short mixing time, it was observed that the mixture develops suitable characteristics for the granulation. It was observed that dry pulverized compost, normally hydrophobic, is converted into a hydrophilic form, since the moisture of the binder solution was "absorbed by capillarity" or transported into the compost and the binder solids were dispersed within the mixture. powdered. This resulted in a significant increase in bulk density to provide a fluid powder. From the mixer 23, the pre-moistened mixture is fed to the feeder 24. The moisture and the surfactant can be added by suitable means known to those experienced, wherein the supply is denoted by the number 26. The moisture content that will be observed is up to of 11% by weight of the mixture. This should not be confused with the combination water. It refers to the free moisture content that is important to facilitate 52/149 granulation. Once the correct moisture has been obtained, the mixture is transferred to the tray granulator 28. To form the granules, additional binder and surfactant material is introduced, for example, into an aerosol. The aerosol is supplied by a suitable atomizer or wetting gun. The aerosol binder may comprise the same material that was initially sprayed with the compost or, alternatively, the binder may be a different material, which optionally includes an auxiliary fertilizer compound soluble in the binder solution. As known in the art, the tray granulator 28 includes upper and lower scrapers, 34 and 36, respectively. The use of the binder solution in any position from the 12 o'clock position to the 5 o'clock position has been found to be particularly useful. By using the surfactant to reduce the surface tension of the compost, which is inherently hydrophobic, the bulk density of the mixture can be increased and, thus, wetting, growth and consolidation can be achieved. Suitable surfactants include C4-C8 sulfonic acids, sulfonic acids, sodium succinate, among others. The surfactant can be mixed with the binder or added to the tray. When you get the proper free moisture, 52/149 to 11% by weight of free moisture, the tray stabilizes in a steady state condition. The product formed in the tray 28 is usually between the mesh 3 (5 mm) and the mesh 12 (1.68 mm). The product is discharged and dried with the dryer 39. The dryer 39 may be selected from, for example, Carrier dryers, tray dryers or rotary rack type dryers. The product formed in the tray 28 is further conveyed to the dryer 39 by means of a suitable conveyor, denoted in a global way by means of the number 41. The product leaving the dryer 39, by means of the stream 41, is then sieved by a suitable screening arrangement 44 in the mesh 3 (5 mm), the mesh 8 (2.38 mm) and the mesh 20 (0.84 mm). The mesh portion -20 (0.84 mm) is sent to the sprayer 12 for recycling to the system, the recycle stream is indicated by the number 46. The oversize agglomerates are fragmented, for example, by means of a Fritz mill and are added to feeding the tray or discarded. The portion of the mesh 3 (5 mm) to the mesh 12 (1.68 mm) is the final product and leaves the screen 44, as indicated by the number 48, as a final finished product. Any residual dust that may be present in the dryer 39 can be passed through the line 52/149 54 for the outlet of the dryer 39 to the hopper 56 and the material collected in the hopper 56 to be passed either to the bag filter 18, by means of the line 58, or to pass to the feed, by means of the line 60. The fines or powder entering the bag filter 18 can be further passed through auxiliary operations, e.g., wet wash, as denoted generally by the number 60 of Figure 1. For those experienced in The technique will be easily evident other examples. With additional reference to the tray 28, as is known, the tray can be adjusted in terms of angle and speed of rotation or rotation, furthermore, it has been found to be advantageous to change not only the horizontal arrangement of the tray, but also to tilt laterally the trays to increase the efficiency of the granulation process. The specific angle of inclination and the horizontal angle will depend on the speed of rotation and the size of the granule to be produced. With respect to a second embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 schematically illustrates a possible circuit. In this embodiment, a hopper 32 is included in the circuit to retain a supply of agronomic seeds, such 52/149 as canary seed, rapeseed, canola seeds, etc. The seeds can be introduced by a feeder 33 to the tray 28. In this size distribution, a product can be formulated when an agronomic seed is encapsulated in the compost. Normally, an industrially useful size distribution for these products is between the 6 mesh (3.36 mm) and the 8 mesh (2.38 mm). It has been found that the final product provides extremely useful results since 30% of the encapsulated products contain a single seed. This percentage can be increased to at least 90% by the increase in the volume of seed in the tray. This is particularly useful for the industry since waste is minimized and over-sown is not a concern, given the size of the final product. This is well established in agricultural technology where over-sowing and inconsistent air cover are major problems and result in excessive costs to the industry. Procedures similar to those described with respect to Figure 1 are applicable. As an alternative, hopper 32 may contain a fertilizer material, such as ammonium sulfate, etc. in a size distribution of between -35 mesh (0.50 mm) and +150 (0.10 mm) and, thus, act as a nucleating agent. This increases the granulation process to result in the 52/149 formation of a granular composite compost that has a central core of fertilizer material. The compost material, as stated herein, may also contain a multitude of different materials. Referring now to Figure 3, a further embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this mode, two granulation trays are used. The trays 28 and 30 cooperate to form a first stage granule and a larger second stage granule. The mixture, as previously described herein, is introduced into a small tray 30 to form a distribution of sizes between the mesh 3 (5 mm) and the mesh 12 (1.68 mm) with a fraction in a size distribution of between 8 mesh (2.38 mm) and 12 (1.68 mm). The mixture is fed to the tray 30 by the feeder 33. The tray 30 includes the scrapers 38 and 40. The mesh particles +8 (2.38 mm) and mesh 12 (1.68 mm) are passed to the tray 28 and undergo the treatment as established with respect to Figure 1, until a distribution of mesh sizes -3 (5 mm) and +8 (2.38 mm) is obtained. This size distribution can be further altered, if desired, by passing the granules formed from 48 to a drum granulator 62 for further accretion of material to 0.5 inch glomeruli and discharging the product to 64. 52/149 The accretion in the drum practically follows the procedure in the tray, as discussed here. As an additional option, the hopper 32 can be used in this process circuit. It will also be readily appreciated that any number of trays can be incorporated into the system to progressively develop or enlarge a granule. To this end, the process can be interrupted and, therefore, can be custom designed to produce granules having a variety of layers of materials to produce a multitude of value granules. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the process is effective to produce several different forms of fertilizer and has particular utility with respect to the formation of high grade fertilizer for use on golf courses, etc. In terms of the binder, the suitable example includes neutral potassium or ammonia lignosulfonate, starch, sugars, proteins, water, calcium sulfate, dry glutens, wheat grains, barley grains, rice grains and calcium phosphate, among others. The choice of binder will depend on the desired characteristics of the granule and, accordingly, the examples mentioned above are only exemplary. 52/149

Claims (29)

1. CLAIMS t 1. A method for granulating compost material, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing a supply of pulverized and dry compost material in a 90% smaller mesh size distribution -150 (0.10 mm); forming a wet mixture of dry and powdered compost and binder containing moisture, the mixture contains up to 11% by weight of free moisture and a surfactant; mixing the mixture sufficiently to reverse the hydrophobicity of the pulverized compost material, wherein the pulverized compost material absorbs moisture from the binder and forms a flowable composite; granulating the mixture forming granules in the tray by contacting the mixture with additional binder material and a surfactant; and forming compost granules with a mesh size distribution -3 (5 mm) to +12 (1.68 mm). The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the method further includes the step of passing the granules formed on a second granulating tray for further accretion of the mixture. 52/149 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the mixture also includes sulfur, micronutrients, pH regulators, pH buffers, bacteria, ion exchange resin, molecular meshes, fertilizer compounds, fertilizer mixtures, pesticides, fungicides, minerals or a combination thereof. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the binder includes at least one of the following: gluten, starch, neutral ammonia lignosulfonate, neutral potassium lignosulfonate, wheat grains, barley grains, rice grains, lignosol or a combination of them. 5. A method for granulating compost material, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing a supply of pulverized and dry compost material in a 90% smaller mesh size distribution -150 (0.10 mm); forming a wet mixture of dry and powdered compost and binder containing moisture, the mixture contains up to 11% by weight of free moisture and a surfactant; mix the mixture sufficiently to invert the hydrophobicity of the compost material 52/149 pulverized, where the pulverized compost material absorbs the moisture from the binder and forms a compound that can flow, that is, fluid; granulate in a first stage the mixture forming granules in the tray by means of the contact of the mixture with additional binder material and a surfactant, the granules are in a size distribution between mesh -3 (5 mm) and +12 (1.68 mm) ), and include at least one particle fraction in a mesh size distribution of -8 (2.38 mm) to +12 (1.68 mm); granulate the fraction of 8 mesh particles (2.38 mm) and 12 mesh (1.68 mm) in a second stage, through contact with the mixture and additional binder; and forming compost granules with a mesh size distribution between -3 (5 mm) and +8 mesh (2.38 mm). The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the method also includes the step of granulating in a drum to the granules with the distribution of mesh sizes -3 (5 mm) and meshes +8 (2.38 mm) in the presence of the mixture and binder to formulate granules in a 1/2 inch (1.3 mm) size distribution. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the method further includes the step of adding an auxiliary fertilizer material to the mixture. 8. The method according to claim 7, 52/149 characterized in that the auxiliary fertilizer comprises at least one of the following: ammonium sulfate, ammonium phosphate, micronutrients, pH regulators, pH buffers, bacteria, ion exchange resin, molecular meshes, fertilizer compounds, fertilizer mixtures , pesticides, fungicides, minerals or a combination thereof. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the pulverized and dry compost material comprises a mesh size distribution -200 (0.07 mm). 10. A method for encapsulating an agronomic seed with compost material to form a granular glomerulus, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing a supply of dry and pulverized compost material, pulverized to powder in a 90% size distribution Less than -150 mesh (0.10 mm); provide a supply of agronomic seeds; forming a wet mixture of dry powdered compost and binder containing moisture, the mixture contains up to 11% by weight of free moisture and a surfactant; mix the mixture enough to invert the 52/149 hydrophobicity of the pulverized compost material, wherein the pulverized compost material absorbs moisture from the binder and forms a fluid composite; provide a granulation tray; to put the tray in contact with the agronomic seeds; put the tray in contact with the mixture; and granulating the mixture around the seeds in the tray by contacting the mixture with the seeds; and form glomeruli of agronomic seeds encapsulated with the compost. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the seeds comprise seeds for agricultural cultivation. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the seeds are in a mesh size distribution of +35 (0.50 mm) and -8 mesh (2.38 mm). The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the encapsulated seeds are in a size distribution of between mesh 3 and mesh 12. The method according to claim 11, characterized by at least 30% of the encapsulated seeds contain a single seed. 52/149 15. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the mixture includes at least one sulfur, micronutrients, pH regulators, pH buffers, bacteria, ion exchange resin, molecular meshes, fertilizer compounds, fertilizer mixtures, pesticides. , fungicides, minerals or a combination thereof. 16. A method for granulating compost material, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing a supply of dry and pulverized compost material, pulverized to powder in a size distribution of 90% less than -150 mesh (0.10 mm); provide a supply of a fertilizer material as a sowing agent; forming a wet mixture of pulverized and dry compost and binder containing moisture, the mixture contains up to 11% by weight of free moisture and a surfactant; mixing the mixture sufficiently to reverse the hydrophobicity of the pulverized compost material, wherein the pulverized compost material absorbs moisture from the binder and forms a fluid composite; provide a granulation tray; 52/149 to put the tray in contact with the fertilizer material; put the tray in contact with the mixture; and granulating the mixture around the fertilizer material in the tray by contacting the mixture with the sowing agent; and forming glomeruli of fertilizer material encapsulated with the compost. 17. A granule of granulated compost prepared according to claim 1. 18. A granule of granulated compost prepared according to claim 5. 19. A granule of granulated compost prepared according to claim 10. 20. A granule of granular compost prepared according to claim 10. granulated compost prepared according to claim 16. 21. A granule of granulated compost, characterized in that the granule comprises: an agronomic seed; and granulated compost material around it. 22. A composite compost granule, characterized in that the granule comprises: a central fertilizer core; and granulated compost material around the 52/149 same. 23. A composite granule, characterized in that the granule comprises: an agronomic seed in a mesh size distribution of +35 (0.50 mm) and -8 mesh (2.38 mm); and composite material stratified thereon, forming a granule having in it a seed encapsulated in a distribution of sizes between 6 mesh (3.36 mm) and 8 mesh (2.38 mm). 24. The granule according to claim 23, characterized in that the seed comprises a seed of agricultural cultivation. 25. The granule according to claim 23, characterized in that the seed comprises a canola seed. 26. The granule according to claim 23, characterized in that the compost material comprises animal compost. 27. The granule according to claim 23, characterized in that the compost material comprises plant compost. 28. A composite granule, characterized in that the granule comprises: a homogeneous mixture of compost and fertilizer. 52/149 29. The granule according to claim 28, characterized in that the compost is granulated with seed fertilizer. 52/149