Researcher Cai Dongqing’s group in the College of Environmental Science and Engineering has made a breakthrough in the preparation of slow-release fulvic acid functional fertilizer by catalytic degradation of waste bread, which provides a new thought for fertilization of waste bread and synergistic remediation of heavy metals in the environment. The research result was published in Chemical Engineering Journal, a leading journal in the environmental field.
Bread is one of the most produced and sold food products in the world. Due to its short shelf life, a large amount of expired bread is produced every year. For the lack of resource utilization means of bread, a massive waste of resources and environmental pollution is caused. Aiming at this problem, the research team used nano-catalytic degradation technology to rapidly convert waste bread into fulvic acid, then organically compounded it with magnetic nanomaterials to develop a magnetic slow-release fulvic acid fertilizer. Significantly, the fertilizer can not only promote crop growth and soil improvement but also efficiently absorb and remove heavy metals from the environment through magnetic fields. The process is green and low cost, which has a potential application in solid waste resource recovery and soil remediation.
Paperlink: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.137002
