GOLD’n GRO D.E.S. Chemistry
|
The Company successfully pioneered and commercialized the technology to chemically recover and refine silver from spent silver bearing liquid photo-fixers and developers and to use the de-silvered liquid chemicals to make a line of environmentally friendly, award-winning liquid fertilizers that are sold under the GOLD’n GRO fertilizer brand. While developing this recycling technology, the Company became an early innovator and application developer in the field of D.E.S. (Deep Eutectic Solvent) Chemistry which is being intensively researched world-wide but is still in very early stages of application development in a historical context. The liquid photo waste was completely converted to salable products and was designated a “Zero Waste” technology by the International Society of Chemical Engineers (IchemE) in 2005.
|
We started the work on this in 1990. Dr. Whitney contacted several University Ag Extension professors who were working on developing liquid multi nutrient fertilizers, who shared research reports on their work to help get the process started. At the time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was spending several million dollars per year performing field tests using different multi-nutrient formulations to evaluate their performance under actual field conditions. Itronics introduced the de-silvered photographic liquids to the concept. The objective was to develop one or more stable multi-nutrient liquid fertilizers that would use a relatively high percentage of de-silvered photographic liquid as a base material for the fertilizers. This was achieved by combining conventional fertilizer chemistry, reacted de-metallized photographic chemistry, and chelation chemistry; the result was stable fertilizer liquids. These were eutectic liquids because they contained more dissolved solids than standard chemical liquids could theoretically hold. We believed this occurred because they were in molecular balance. This is how our entry into the new field of D.E.S. chemistry began. Our patent attorneys told us "…you don't have to understand the theory, you just have to be able to duplicate the results", so we focused on duplicating the results, and we have.
Because of this technology and its potential for positive global environmental benefit, Itronics was named an “International Green Hero” by the Green Organization, an entity sponsored by the British Government, in 2006.
Each GOLD’n GRO fertilizer is a eutectic liquid made possible by the D.E.S. chemistry. Each fertilizer is technically a D.E.S. product. The first two fertilizers, GOLD’n GRO 20-1-7+3%S and GOLD’n GRO 10-0-0+4%Fe, were university tested in 1995 and 1996. The university testing demonstrated superior performance compared to then existing “top of the line” fertilizers being manufactured and sold by the largest established U. S. fertilizer companies. As a result GOLD’n GRO 20-1-7 +3%S was rated number one two years in a row. This success by a new company that had never made a fertilizer before led Western Farm Service, an established fertilizer company that was later merged into Nutrien Ag Solutions, to enter into an exclusive evergreen licensing and marketing agreement to help Itronics develop and market a line of fertilizers based on the new technology.
Development of cell phone digital camera technology and various non-photographic color printing technologies has reduced the use of conventional silver-based film and print technology and reduced the generation of silver-bearing photographic liquids to small amounts. After more than 30 years of research and field testing, the GOLD’n GRO fertilizers have been fully transitioned to the D.E.S. chemistry, resulting in synthetic fertilizers that duplicate the photo liquid-based fertilizers, and that have the same superior quality, stability, and mixing compatibility. Photo liquid availability is no longer a raw material supply constraint on the growth of GOLD’n GRO fertilizer sales.
Itronics has been able to expand the use of the D.E.S. chemistry to leaching metals from metal-bearing concentrates and for leaching silver and other metals from mine tailings. The mine tailings processing technology is being developed under the Rock Kleen brand but is based on the use of one of the GOLD’n GRO fertilizers. The metal concentrate leaching technology is being developed for internal use by the Company and is identified by the names ZnLix, FeLix, SuLix, and MnLix, for zinc, iron, sulfur, and manganese leaching. The ZnLix process has produced zinc enriched liquid from which the company has been able to electrolytically recover metallic zinc plate, demonstrating
the versatility of the D.E.S. chemistry.
The ZnLix and MnLix technologies are currently being developed for processing alkaline battery black mass that is produced by one of the largest battery recycling companies. The new technology recovers potassium, graphite, zinc, and manganese and results in total recycling of the black mass material. The potassium, zinc, and manganese are high quality nutrient materials that can be used as ingredients in the GOLD’n GRO fertilizers.
Because of this technology and its potential for positive global environmental benefit, Itronics was named an “International Green Hero” by the Green Organization, an entity sponsored by the British Government, in 2006.
Each GOLD’n GRO fertilizer is a eutectic liquid made possible by the D.E.S. chemistry. Each fertilizer is technically a D.E.S. product. The first two fertilizers, GOLD’n GRO 20-1-7+3%S and GOLD’n GRO 10-0-0+4%Fe, were university tested in 1995 and 1996. The university testing demonstrated superior performance compared to then existing “top of the line” fertilizers being manufactured and sold by the largest established U. S. fertilizer companies. As a result GOLD’n GRO 20-1-7 +3%S was rated number one two years in a row. This success by a new company that had never made a fertilizer before led Western Farm Service, an established fertilizer company that was later merged into Nutrien Ag Solutions, to enter into an exclusive evergreen licensing and marketing agreement to help Itronics develop and market a line of fertilizers based on the new technology.
Development of cell phone digital camera technology and various non-photographic color printing technologies has reduced the use of conventional silver-based film and print technology and reduced the generation of silver-bearing photographic liquids to small amounts. After more than 30 years of research and field testing, the GOLD’n GRO fertilizers have been fully transitioned to the D.E.S. chemistry, resulting in synthetic fertilizers that duplicate the photo liquid-based fertilizers, and that have the same superior quality, stability, and mixing compatibility. Photo liquid availability is no longer a raw material supply constraint on the growth of GOLD’n GRO fertilizer sales.
Itronics has been able to expand the use of the D.E.S. chemistry to leaching metals from metal-bearing concentrates and for leaching silver and other metals from mine tailings. The mine tailings processing technology is being developed under the Rock Kleen brand but is based on the use of one of the GOLD’n GRO fertilizers. The metal concentrate leaching technology is being developed for internal use by the Company and is identified by the names ZnLix, FeLix, SuLix, and MnLix, for zinc, iron, sulfur, and manganese leaching. The ZnLix process has produced zinc enriched liquid from which the company has been able to electrolytically recover metallic zinc plate, demonstrating
the versatility of the D.E.S. chemistry.
The ZnLix and MnLix technologies are currently being developed for processing alkaline battery black mass that is produced by one of the largest battery recycling companies. The new technology recovers potassium, graphite, zinc, and manganese and results in total recycling of the black mass material. The potassium, zinc, and manganese are high quality nutrient materials that can be used as ingredients in the GOLD’n GRO fertilizers.