[Courtesy of Farm Hannong]
Slow-acting or slow-releasing fertilizers are coated with polymers to deliberately increase the time at which fertilizers are released into paddocks. However, the polymer coating makes fertilizers' lifespan more than expected, making them spill into rivers, lakes, and man-made reservoirs over heavy rainfalls.
Farm Hannong said in a statement that the company's photodecomposition fertilizer product won a "New Excellent Technology" certification from South Korea's trade ministry. The trade ministry acknowledged that Farm Hannong's fertilizer technology can help reduce plastic waste, cut labor and materials costs, and also reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
Photodecomposition is a type of bio-degradation that uses ultraviolet light to decompose polymers and other plastics. Farm Hannong had collaborated with its parent company LG Chem since 2016 to develop the photodecomposition fertilizer technology.
"Innovative technologies like this photodecomposition fertilizer will change the paradigm of the fertilizer industry," Farm Hannong's fertilizer business head Cho Joseph said in a statement on December 22. Cho said that the company will continue to develop low-carbon agricultural products.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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