Enhancing soil health with increasing the nitrogen content of zeolite-based fertilizers for agricultural applications

Zeolite-based-fertilizers can be obtained by adsorbing plant nutrients to their porous structure. In this research, the natural zeolite (0-200 μm) from Gordes/Türkiye was combined with NH₄NO₃ in a 1:4 solid ratio and processed at 200 °C for 2-24 hours and characterized with diffrent techniques. The optimal synthesis time was 8 hours, yielding a fertilizer with 5.06% nitrogen content. The zeolite-based-fertilizer exhibited a clinoptilolite structure similar to the raw zeolite but demonstrated a greater percentage of mass loss in the DTA/TGA analyses and distinct nitrate peaks in the FTIR spectra, attributable to ammonium nitrate adsorption. The BET results showed a decrease in the BET surface area after the adsorption of NH₄NO₃ onto natural zeolite, with measured values of 34.56 m²/g for natural zeolite and 19.24 m²/g for zeolite-based-fertilizer. The results indicate successful synthesis of a zeolite-based nitrogen fertilizer with potential compatibility with Green Deal goals. .