Production of Fertilizer from Seawater with a Remote Control System †

Abstract

Seawater is abundant and full of nutrients known as ORMUS. Inorganic fertilizers have become scarce and expensive, so alternatives to feed plants are being studied. An automatic tank on a fishing boat was designed to extract salts from seawater, as follows: Sodium hydroxide is applied to seawater and agitated within a tank until its pH reaches 10.78. Salts begin to deposit, and the sodium mixed with the water stays at the surface. Water with sodium is removed after 3 h with a low-pressure pump. Clean water is added to the salty solution at the bottom of the tank to remove more sodium. Water at the top is sucked by the pump again, and the process is repeated once more. After the white salt (ORMUS) lying at the bottom of the tank is removed, the fertilization extraction process can start again. The automatic system regulates the agitator speed, pump filling and suction timing, and bottom valve opening.