FIELD trials to evaluate zinc and manganese micronutrients derived from recycled single-use alkaline batteries on a Kojonup wheat crop begun last week.
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Two different dosages of Envirostream Australia's micronutrients recovered from recycled batteries were agglomerated with mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) fertiliser in wheat seeding furrows on a Kojonup property.
Harvest results in December will be compared with adjacent furrows treated with an application of MAP only and other furrows treated with a commercial fertiliser with added zinc and manganese.
Furrows with no fertiliser were also sown as a control for the trials.
As previously reported in Farm Weekly, Envirostream, a subsidiary of Lithium Australia, is assessing the use of a zinc and manganese powder derived from common recycled alkaline batteries, the sort that power torches, toys and remote-control units, as micronutrients in blended fertilisers.
Envirostream founder and managing director Andrew Mackenzie said the company hadn't initially planned to recycle alkaline batteries.
"We had started recycling lithium batteries, but kept receiving alkaline batteries in our collections," Mr Mackenzie said.
"Rather than say they aren't that hazardous and throw them into landfill, we started investigating what the components could be used for.
"We found there was manganese and zinc at a really high purity and in a form of oxide that could be used for fertiliser."
After conducting university trials to confirm the exact ingredients of the alkaline batteries after being processed, Mr Mackenzie said they found the uptake of the micronutrients from the batteries had been a little less compared to that of sulphate fertilisers.
"But in saying that we didn't change many conditions - for example we didn't try it in a drier soil or a wetter soil and at different depths," Mr Mackenzie said.
"So we are now trialing the micronutrients on a 600sqm wheat plot using 20 kilograms of our product over the whole trial, sourced from about 1260 batteries.
"Mid to late next year we expect to have all the questions answered to make this a product that can be used.
"There is some side separation that we can add to our process to ensure they get the quantity of manganese versus zinc that they need."
The company is talking to some fertiliser manufacturers about using its recycled battery powder as a source of micronutrients.
While fertilisers incorporating rapid-release micronutrients derived from alkaline batteries are available commercially in the northern hemisphere, Envirostream has said the micronutrients it is producing are slow-release variants tailored specifically for broadacre farming in Western Australia.
It believes WA's characteristic Wheatbelt sandy soils, low in zinc and manganese, can be improved with micronutrients to provide significant yield benefits.
"Using recycled batteries to enhance fertilisers has the potential to divert toxic materials from landfill, provide the fertiliser industry with more sustainable inputs and improve crop yields," said Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin.
"The slow-release nature of the micronutrients produced by Envirostream could prove a real advantage in terms of local crop conditions.
"We look forward to the outcome of the trials later this year."
