Physical Granulation of Compound Fertilizer

• Main Author: Bagus Jalu Buana (NIM : 13013062), Natal
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/23441
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Fertilizer is a material that provides one or more of the nutrients needed for the growth of the plant. Fertilizers are generally made to meet the needs of primary macronutrients of plants such as nitrogen (N), phosphate (P2O5), and potassium (K2O). Fertilizers whose have more than one macronutrients are called multinutrient fertilizers. One type of multinutrient fertilizer is a compound fertilizer which made by physical granulation process or granulation without chemical reactions. The granulation process is needed because the granules are effective for use and ease the transportation process. In the granulation process, filler is required to increase the compactness of granules and binders as a liquid to bond the fertilizer. Filler that commonly used are non-renewable minerals. In this research, the process of physical granulation use compound fertilizer in the form of NPK fertilizer as raw material and filler that comes from eggshell chicken waste with pan granulator. The purpose of this research is to get granule with size 2-4 mm and granule compressive strength 0,79-3,12 MPa, and get the influence of granulation variable to granule yield. This research consists of the preparation of the material; A preliminary experiment which serves to obtain some optimum operating conditions such as granulator rotational speed, binder spraying location, molasse concentration; The main experiment with use the variation of binder type of hot water and molasse, and the ratio of binder with solid (L / S) by varying the volume of binder by 5,7, and 10 ml; And experimental analysis. Variables whose values are kept constantly in the main experiments are granulation time, granulator type, and optimum variables obtained from preliminary experiments. Based on this research, it is concluded that the most optimum binder spraying location is the top-down* position. In addition, increasing the L / S value and binder concentration will increase the mass ratio of on size granule. Maximum ratio of on size granule on the main experiment using NPK 20-10-10, eggshell filler, and binder using the variation of hot water (88 oC) or molasse 50% -m was obtained by using 5 ml volume of binder, ie 33.32% -m for hot water and 44.50% -m for molasse. While the highest granule strength of NPK fertilizer using hot water binder and molasse was obtained when the binder volume was 7 ml, ie 1.32 MPa for hot water and 0.40 MPa for molasse.