Location
Innovation Lab Atrium
Start Date
4-3-2025 2:00 PM
End Date
4-3-2025 3:30 PM
Presentation Date
3 April 2025, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Biography
With both an undergraduate and a master's degree in Glass Science, I have built my career around a deep passion for glassy materials. Their diverse applications and the inherent beauty they bring to everyday life continue to inspire my work. My experience as a scientific flame worker has further strengthened my appreciation for both the artistic and technical aspects of glass. My background includes research on quick-dissolving phosphate glasses and the use of recycled materials for soil remineralization, which naturally led me to explore the potential of glass-based fertilizers. By integrating innovation with sustainability, I aim to advance agricultural technology by leveraging the unique properties of glass to enhance fertilizer efficiency and mitigate eutrophication.
Meeting Name
2025 - Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference
Department(s)
Materials Science and Engineering
Document Type
Poster
Document Version
Citation
File Type
event
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 The Authors, All rights reserved
Sustainable Solutions to Eutrophication: The Role of Glass Fertilizers
Innovation Lab Atrium
Comments
Advisor: Charmayne E. Lonergan
Abstract:
Traditional large-scale fertilizers have demonstrated reduced efficacy and contribute to environmental issues such as eutrophication, where oxygen depletion in aquatic systems results in dead zones. Optimizing nutrient release rates can mitigate these effects, and phosphate-based glasses present a promising solution. In this study, high-potassium phosphate glass was synthesized and subjected to nitrification using nitrites and nitrogen gas. The material was then processed into powder and spherized to precisely control dissolution rates. Incorporating nitrogen into the phosphate glass network enhances bond density and atomic connectivity, leading to slower, controlled dissolution rates, making it a viable candidate for nutrient release management in agriculture. DSC shows an increase in the glass transition temperature, XRD shows the base glass, spherical particles and unspherized material are amorphous with some crystallinity.