ORGANIC-MINERAL FERTILIZER AND METHOD TO PRODUCE IT
This invention relates to fertilizers, specially to such fertilizers, the fertilizing effect of which is maintained in the soil for a longer period of time and which are therefore planned to be used to prepare soils for plantations or to be added into planting holes when the fertilizing effect is needed for many years.
State of the art
A method to fertilize forests, farms and big areas is known from Stensaas Larry's patent specification No. US4581846, priority 1986/04/15. The method is used to produce easily soluble macro compounds and micro compounds emittable during a longer period of time for plants in a special way.
The first package or bale contains biologically soluable cellulosic matrix prepared from domestic waste or from other energy-rich organic components. Inside of said first bale is another composite, prepared of non-soluble ground minerals and rock phosphate enriched with a spores of micro organisms which start to grow and propagate in a suitable moist environment producing organic acid and enzymes which then act upon rock minerals and rock phosphate to free needed nutrients in time. The bale may also contain refined industrial mineral fertilizers as plants nutrients in a time-release form as a second package.
The known method is surely efficient in special applications, but usage of the products, produced by said method is impossible using traditional sowing equipment for starting traditional plantations of strawberry, raspberry, sea buckthorn, blueberry; furthermore, said products are inconvenient to use when establishing large park forests.
Also, the product BIOHUMUS of IRIS Ltd. is known, where pellets contain three layers, the inner layer consisting of humic substance - ground lignite; the middle layer consisting of fine ground mineral powder; the upper layer containing calcium for fast neutralisation of acidic soil.
The method and products based on it were necessary, but their cost/quality ratio was not competitive. As the main component, lignite, was imported from Germany or
Bashkorkostan, the price of the product was too high and the production was stopped after test production in 1993.
The aim of the invention The purpose of this invention is to produce a product with a big fertilizing ability, where soluble, assimilatable macrofertihzers become obtainable for plants only after the secretions of the roots of plants and micro organisms have partly degraded the organic compounds protecting said macro fertilizers.
The additional purposes of the invention are: - production of a soluble in the water, ecologically friendly fertilizer, which is not drained by precipitation from soils into groundwater; - production of an ecologically friendly fertilizer for starting plantations where the fertilizing ability of the product lasts possibly for the life-time of the plantation; production of a substance which has a stimulating effect on the rooting and growth of plants; - production of a substance which is not expensive and can be produced of local raw materials.
The essence of the invention
Said purposes are achieved by putting mineral substance(s) and organic substances suitable for plants into an integrated composition, where said organic substances contain oil shale and/or compounds prepared of that.
It is rational that said organic substances contain mainly shale oil and/or ground oil shale.
It is preferable that said organic substances contain mainly shale oil and/or ground oil shale which has beforehand been treated with acid.
It is also recommendable that said organic substances mainly consist of shale oil and/or oil shale and/or oil shale semicoke.
It is also recommendable that said organic substances mainly consist of shale oil, treated beforehand with acetone.
It is also recommendable that additives prepared of oil shale are added, in the amount of 0,001% to 90% by weight, to said mineral substance(s).
It is also recommendable that the mineral core is covered by a layer containing heavy oil and/or ground oil shale and/or oil shale semicoke.
It is also recommendable that the mineral core is covered by a layer containing heavy oil and/or ground oil shale, treated with acid and/or oil shale semicoke.
It is also recommendable that shale oil, treated earlier with acetone and/or ground oil shale products, treated earlier with acid are added to the mixture of mineral substance(s) and organic substances suitable for plants.
It is also recommendable that the mixture of mineral substance(s) and organic substances suitable for plants, with added shale oil and/or shale oil, treated earlier with acetone and/or ground oil shale products, treated earlier by acid, are pressed into pellets.
According to the invention, production of the organic-mineral fertilizer takes place in this way that the mineral core is covered by heavy shale oil or its acetone treated product, which is thereafter covered with a layer of ground oil shale and/or semicoke containing substance, whereas ground oil shale can beforehand be treated with acid or its solution.
According to the invention, production of the organic-mineral fertilizer by an alternative method takes place in this way that a mixture is formed of mineral substance(s) and organic substances, to which shale oil or its acetone treated product and/or ground oil shale products treated with acid or its solution and/or ground semicoke compost are added, and pressed into pellets.
The organic-mineral fertilizer, produced according to the invention, is used for starting plantations, for planting trees, bushes, flowers, whereas the fertilizer is mixed into soil during preparations or mixed into planting holes. The fertilizer, produced according to the above described method does not dissolve in water in a short time, because the soluble mineral part is surrounded by an isolating layer of heavy shale oil, which is additionally covered with an external layer of an organic fertilizer. The amount of heavy shale oil or its product treated in acetone used is chosen depending on the speciality of the plantation and depending on the needed period of the fertilizing effect - two, three, four years or longer; the amount can vary from some per cent to twenty.
The essence of the invention lies in the fact that plants get mineral macronutrients from the fertilizer produced by the described method with their roots through small areas of protective layers of shale oil, degraded by root secretions and symbiont micro organisms. Therefore, mineral, soluble in liquids macro nutrients become obtainable for plants only in the area of intense metabolism activity of plants roots and symbiont micro organisms. As a result, the amount of obtainable nutrients is determined by the amount of the fertilizer dissolved by the liquid secretions of plants roots.
According to the invention, the washout of the fertilizer from soil into ground waters by precipitation is practically excluded as proceeds from the previous description, and fertilizing substances become obtainable for plants in a limited amount only by means of their root secretion and the enzyms of symbiont micro organisms. The fertilizers, produced by the described method have an additional advantage when spread into soil or into planting holes on the planned planting area which has been cleaned of weeds beforehand - the fertilizer is not distributed evenly in the soil but becomes obtainable for plants roots in the location of the fertilizer. Due to said speciality no intense growth of weeds occurs if the fertilizer of the invention is properly used, which is often the case when fertilizing forests, where as a result of the use of ordinary fertilizers the increment of growth can decrease because of increased weeds growth.
By adding ground oil shale and/or its treated in acid or acidic solution product into the upper layer of the fertilizer, which corresponds to the invention, compounds, stimulating the activity of micro organisms and plants rooting are carried into soil and
as a result of using the fertilizer of the invention, the growth rate of plants is intensified. Practically the same purpose is served by adding ground composite, based on oil shale semicoke into the upper layer of the fertilizer. Besides the above stimulating compounds, the upper layer of the organic-mineral fertilizer provides additional energy also to micro organisms due to the contents of the carbon compounds, which are needed for their fast propagation and for maintaining their large amount, but also for the pre-emptive development of the micro organisms which obtain nitrogen independently, which is especially useful for soil ecology.
A mixture of the invention, prepared of mineral substance(s) and organic substances suitable for plants, with added shale oil and/or ground oil shale products, treated earlier by acid or its solution and/or semicoke based composite are pressed into pellets, which is reasonable to use for founding long acting plantations, where the desirable fertilizing effect maintains more than ten years - for example sea buckthorn or other fruit-tree plantations. In this case the essence of the invention lies in the fact that obtaining nutrients from pellets spread into soil is even more complicated for plants roots, because the amount of shale oil used is bigger and the increase of temperature which takes place when the pellets are pressed, hardens shale oil or its treated components and becomes more difficult to degrade for micro organisms. Also, a certain portion of mineral compounds lies farther from the outer surface of the pellets.
Description of the preferred embodiment
(Heavy) shale oil or its product treated with acetone, kukersool, is added to the suitable pelleted mineral fertilizer in the amount of ca 2-20% by dry weight, depending on the fertilizer and its pellets smoothness, and depending on the desired period of fertilizing action. In the simplest case the mixture is mixed in an agitator or in a pelleting device so that all pellets are covered with a smooth layer of oil or kukersool. After that ground oil shale or its product treated for example in a 30%- nitric acid, and/or peat and chicken or pig slurry ground compost, produced with semicoke, is added into the agitator or into the pelleting device. On the pellets, covered with shale oil or kukersool a layer of ground powder gathers, of approximately the same amount as that of the pelleted mineral fertilizer at the beginning. In the final stage the pelleting device can be heated or pellets on the
conveyer can be led through heated environment to harden the heavy oil or kukersool covering the pellets in order to quarantee that the pellets will not decompose too easily. Under the conditions described above, the diameter of initial pellets increases by circa 25%.
According to the second, alternative version, the basic mineral fertilizer is mixed with ground organic-rich additional components; heavy shale oil or kukersool, in the amount of ca 5% by weight, is added to the mixture and from the mixture pellets are pressed. According to the described method, the basic mineral fertilizer may be in the form of a powder or in pellets. For smaller end pellets mineral fertilizer in the form of powder is preferred. If needed, pressed pellets can be heated for better hardening of added oil or kukersool.
Use of the organic-mineral fertilizers of the invention is simple, they can be sowed by ordinary equipment or if needed, added directly into planting holes.