The use of sheep’s wool from the Kyrgyz Republic as a component of a fertiliser composite: incubation studies

There is currently growing interest in reusing various types of waste in the economy, in order to avoid unnecessary costs and improve the environmental sustainability of materials. One such material is sheep wool, which is considered waste in some parts of Asia and Europe. The aim of this study was to investigate the physicochemical properties of sheep wool sourced from the Kyrgyz Republic, to use it to develop a fertiliser and assess its initial behaviour in the soil. Using wool fibre, a fertiliser based on a polymer matrix was produced, and an analysis of the fibre’s elemental composition was carried out, along with a thermal analysis of the fertiliser before and after incubation in soil to assess the degree of degradation, and a basic analysis of the soil following the incubation process. The wool studied is characterised by a high nitrogen content, accelerates the degradation of the fertiliser and can serve as a carrier for additional minerals. The presence of the fertiliser in the soil alters its properties, and these changes are more gradual than with mineral fertilisers, leading to less soil degradation. The use of wool as a fertiliser component means that it can act as a slow-release agent and form the basis for further research into waste materials for use in agriculture.