NRG research featured on the cover of the July issue of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. TheAmerican Chemical Society journal published the pioneering work by Talal Almeelbi (now in King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia) and Achintya Bezbaruah in the July issue and featured their green phosphate removal and reuse technology on the cover. In their work Almeelbi and Bezbaruah used nanoscale zero-valent iron (nzvi) to successfully remove phosphate from aqueous solution through sorption onto the metal surface. The sorbed phosphate was later used as a phosphate fertilizer for Spinacia oleracea (spinach) and Selenastrum capricornutum (algae). Phosphate fertilizer is typically produced from phosphate rocks mined in select countries, and it is feared that traditional phosphate production will not be able to meet the world phosphate demand in ~2033. The present research has proposed alternative “mines” (eutrophic lakes, wastewater, feedlot effluent) for phosphate mining! the researchers could also fortify the plants with iron. that nzvi can be used for the fortification iron in spinach has major ramifications for world nutrient (food) security as iron deficiency in human is very common across the world.
