Extruded fertilizer granules with urease and/or nitrification inhibitors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11021409-B2
Application number	US-201816636391-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 7, 2018
Priority date	Aug 9, 2017
Publication date	Jun 1, 2021
Grant date	Jun 1, 2021

Abstract

Fertilizers with urease inhibitors and/or nitrification inhibitors are described. The fertilizer can include an extruded granule containing urea, a polymeric binder, and a nitrification inhibitor and/or an urease inhibitor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An extruded fertilizer granule comprising an extrudate having:
solid urea;
one or more nitrification or urease inhibitor(s) or a combination thereof; and
a polymeric binder having a melting point of less than 80° C., the polymeric binder comprising 20 wt. % to 30 wt. % of one or more of polyethylene glycol, polycaprolactone, or a combination of polyethylene glycol and polycaprolactone, where the wt. % is based on the weight of the fertilizer granule,
wherein the extrudate is bound together by the polymeric binder and the extruded fertilizer granule does not contain a coating on the extrudate.

2. The extruded fertilizer granule of claim 1 , wherein the extrudate comprises by weight of the extrudate:
40 wt. % to 80 wt. % of the solid urea;
20 wt. % to 40 wt. % of the binder; and
0.02 wt. % to 10 wt. % of one or more nitrification and/or urease inhibitor(s).

3. The extruded fertilizer granule of claim 1 , wherein the extrudate comprises:
0.02 wt. % to 0.5 wt. % of the urease inhibitor; and/or
0.5 wt. % to 10 wt. % of the nitrification inhibitor.

4. The extruded fertilizer granule of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the urease inhibitor(s) comprises N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide and/or wherein at least one of the nitrification inhibitor(s) comprises dicyandiamide.

5. The extruded fertilizer granule of claim 1 , wherein the polymeric binder is biodegradable and/or water soluble.

6. The extruded fertilizer granule of claim 1 , wherein the solid urea is powdered urea.

7. The extruded fertilizer granule of claim 1 , further comprising micronutrients.

8. The extruded fertilizer granule of claim 1 , wherein the extrudate has a diameter of 1 mm to 4 mm.

9. The extruded fertilizer granule of claim 1 , wherein the polymeric binder is polyethylene glycol.

10. A fertilizer composition comprising a mixture of:
(a) urea granules; and
(b) a plurality of the extruded fertilizer granules of claim 1 .

11. A process for producing a fertilizer, the process comprising:
extruding a composition comprising solid urea, a polymeric binder having a melting point of less than 80° C., and one or more nitrification or urease inhibitor(s) or a combination thereof at an extrusion temperature sufficient to melt the polymeric binder and form an extrudate that is bound together by the polymeric binder; and
forming a fertilizer granule from the extrudate,

wherein the polymeric binder comprises 20 wt. % to 30 wt. % of one or more of polyethylene glycol, polycaprolactone, or a combination of polyethylene glycol and polycaprolactone, where the wt. % is based on the weight of the fertilizer granule.

12. The process for producing a fertilizer of claim 11 , wherein the extrudate comprises:
40 wt. % to 80 wt. % of the solid urea;
20 wt. % to 40 wt. % of the polymeric binder; and
0.02 wt. % to 10 wt. % of one or more nitrification and/or urease inhibitor(s).

13. The process for producing a fertilizer of claim 11 , wherein the extrudate comprises:
0.02 wt. % to 0.5 wt. % of the urease inhibitor; and/or
0.5 wt. % to 10 wt. % of the nitrification inhibitor.

14. The process for producing a fertilizer of claim 11 , wherein at least one of the urease inhibitor(s) comprises N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide and/or wherein at least one of the nitrification inhibitor(s) comprises dicyandiamide.

15. The process for producing a fertilizer of claim 11 , wherein the polymeric binder is biodegradable and/or water soluble.

16. The process for producing a fertilizer of claim 11 , wherein the solid urea is powdered urea.

17. The process for producing a fertilizer of claim 11 , wherein the fertilizer granule has an average diameter of 1 mm to 4 mm.

18. The process for producing a fertilizer of claim 11 , wherein:
the extrusion temperature is less than 80° C.; and
the extrudate is extruded from a co-rotating twin screw extruder.

19. The process for producing a fertilizer of claim 11 , further comprising combining a plurality of the fertilizer granules with added urea granules to form a blended fertilizer such that the added urea granules are not bound in the extrudate of the fertilizer granules.

20. The process for producing a fertilizer of claim 11 , wherein the polymeric binder is polyethylene glycol.

Assignees

• Sabic Global Technologies Bv

Inventors

• Gurumallappa Yoganand
• Hegde Ravi
• Burla Satish
• Koripelly Rajamalleswaramma
• Gupta Samik

Classifications

• C05G5/14

  Tablets, spikes, rods, blocks or balls · CPC title

• C05G5/12

  Granules or flakes · CPC title

• C05G3/90

  for affecting the nitrification of ammonium compounds or urea in the soil · CPC title

• C05C9/00

  Fertilisers containing urea or urea compounds · CPC title

• C05G5/40

  Fertilisers incorporated into a matrix · CPC title