Plant fertiliser prodn. from waste fruit - comprises comminution and neutralisation of mash, esp. with chalk, providing fertiliser having low heavy metal content and contg. no PCB's etc.

摘要

Prodn. of plant fertiliser comprises comminuting fruit, including vegetable, fruit, esp. citrus fruits, peppers, apricots, peaches and nectarines, to a thick mash and adjusting the pH to 6.5-7.5 by admixing an additive. Pref., the fruit is conveniently crushed rather than cut or chopped, as this comminutes any seeds present. A hammer mill is esp. suitable for this purpose. The pH of the mash is suitably adjusted by adding chalk, which at the same time increases the dry content of the fertiliser. When a dry fertiliser is required, the water is removed by heating the mash, e.g. in a rotary heater. USE/ADVANTAGE - The fertiliser, which contains the requisite amts. of nutrients, esp. N, P2O5 and K2O, is pref. applied to the land in liquid form. Alternatively, it can be converted into a dry form. The method enables waste (e.g. damaged, sub-standard or over-produced) fruit to be disposed of usefully, rapidly and cost-effectively. Furthermore, the fertiliser has a low heavy metal content compared with composts and contains no harmful organo-chlorine pesticides, herbicides or PCB's.