agronomic partnership developing products for carbon markets and nutrient management
Zeotech and Griffith University are collaborating on a research program aimed at developing agricultural product applications for carbon markets and nutrient management.
The program, established following a successful nine-month pilot (completed Sept 2021) by Griffith on behalf of Zeotech, will underpin agronomic opportunities for Zeotech products that provide competitive advantages comparable to existing including soil amendments such as fertilisers and soil conditioners, with the early and substantial focus being on the carbon markets program.
Griffith will undertake two concurrent streams of agricultural product development:
- Zeotech products for carbon markets: enhanced soil carbon storage and climate change mitigation in agricultural landscapes, targeting a substantial share of the carbon mitigation market – an estimated 15-20% of total human greenhouse gas emissions; and
- Zeotech products to improve agricultural nutrient management: agricultural pollutant interception, removal, and recycling
Zeotech’s aim is to leverage the economic benefits of its proprietary mineral processing technology for the sustainable low-cost synthesis of zeolites to develop products that help agronomic systems cope with widespread existing and emerging challenges, including fertiliser resource scarcity and increasingly difficult growing conditions wrought by changing climates.
“ZEOTECH TO DEVELOP PRODUCTS FOR CARBON MARKETS IN COLLABORATION WITH GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY” 8th November 2021
zeolites offer soil carbon sequestration potential
Research undertaken by Griffith indicates potential for the surfaces of reactive zeolites to be effective for carbon sequestration, for both organic and inorganic phases. Further, the mechanisms underpinning these sequestration processes suggest positive prospects for long-term soil carbon storage.
The soil product development is supported by promising results achieved during previous agronomic studies undertaken by Griffith, which showed that synthetic zeolites were capable of high nutrient retention, pesticide removal, enhanced moisture retention and decreased soil acidification.
“PROMISING SOIL CARBON AND NUTRIENT RETENTION TRIAL RESULTS” 9th March 2022
early agronomic studies deliver promising results
Griffith University has undertaken a nine-month pilot trial (completed July 2021), which has revealed that there is considerable potential to develop Zeotech products that offer solutions for large-scale agricultural challenges. The results provide confidence in the utilisation of manufactured zeolites to develop an economically compelling fertiliser delivery platform, which offers multiple adjunct benefits including the potential for CO2 sequestration, as well as the application of manufactured zeolites as an agricultural pollutant treatment.
The agronomic studies showed that manufactured zeolites were capable of:
- High nutrient retention and exceptionally high phosphorus retention;
- Pesticide removal and compound breakdown;
- Enhanced moisture retention; and
- Decreased soil acidification.
“EXPLORING AGRICULTURAL APPLICATIONS FOR SYNTHETIC ZEOLITES” 28th September 2020
