AkzoNobel: Novel Formulation Technology – Fertilizer Suspension Concentrate

Concentrated aqueous formulations, such as a suspension concentrate (SC), have been used to deliver agrochemicals to targeted sites for many years. However, a typical SC may contain a significant amount of non-essential ingredients for plant growth in order to maintain the stability of SC formulations.

These non-essential ingredients include dispersants, such as a naphthalene sulfonate condensate, suspension aids/stabilizers, such as an acrylate copolymer stabilizer, anti-freezing agents, such as propylene glycol, defoamers, thickeners, such as xanthan gum or modified clay, preservatives, and wetting agents. These non-essential ingredients not only increase the formulation costs, but also increase potential pollution to farm lands and potential health issues for workers.

We have developed a unique formulation technique (patent pending) using a concentrate aqueous fertilizer as a medium to suspend agrochemical powders without any additives or with only a small amount of wetting agent. We call this type of SC a Fertilizer Suspension Concentrate (FSC).

We know that solid agrochemicals are typically heavier than water. In order to stabilize the powders in water, a thickener plus a stabilizer are used to prevent the settling of the powders. In order to prevent freezing of water, an anti-freezing agent is necessary.

The technique first involves finding out the appropriate aqueous fertilizers and an appropriate concentration for the powder. If the powder is not hydrophilic enough, add a few percent wetting agents, such as a Phospholan? phosphateester. Milling may further improve the stability of the FSC.

Examples of the aqueous fertilizers are 10-34-0 (N-P-K, ~56% ammonium polyphosphate) and URAN 32 (~ 80% solid with ~45% ammonia nitrogen and ~34.8% urea in ~20% water). Many powders will float in 10-34-0 because 10-34-0 has a very high density (1.40 g/ml). On the other hand, URAN 32 has a lower density (1.32 g/ml) than 10-34-0. Therefore, combining 10-34-0 with URAN 32 or 10-34-0 with water will give you a fertilizer solution with a wide density range that sufficiently matches the density of the powders (see illustration in Fig. 1).

"Note：This is normal specification, in case of a particular application, application, please contact us by email at info@fznewmaterials.com for technical information."