Internship – Testing of adhesive substances for briquette production at International Fertilizer Development Center

FERARI has been conducting trials with fertilizers briquettes during the 2020 season with promising results. Briquettes are round pallets of 3 to 4 grams compressed from prilled fertilizers and placed at 7-10cm depth some 5-10 cm next to the seed or plant. Compression of prilled urea results in briquettes that are firm and remain stable for years when sealed in airtight bags. Yet, plants need multiple nutrients and FERARI has been experimenting with briquettes made from different fertilizers including NPK, MOP, phosphate rock and the like. Not all these briquettes remain stable however, degrade in just a few days or weeks upon transport. We therefore like to identify adhesives that could be applied during the production of briquettes with favorable technical features.