Summary
This study addresses quality control and safety challenges in locally-blended fertiliser production by developing empirical calibrations for portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry. The authors demonstrated that pXRF can reliably measure major nutrients (P, Ca), micronutrients (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn), and trace element contaminants (Cr, Ni, As, Cd, Pb) in fertiliser samples with high accuracy and rapid turnaround, offering a cost-effective alternative to conventional laboratory methods for fertiliser characterisation and compliance monitoring.
UK applicability
The methodology is directly applicable to UK fertiliser quality assurance and regulatory compliance, particularly relevant as local fertiliser blending practices expand. The pXRF approach could support UK fertiliser manufacturers and regulators in rapid screening for both nutrient content and contaminant levels, though field-of-use validation in UK production contexts would strengthen applicability.
Key measures
R² values for calibration and validation models; regression coefficients; prediction accuracy across concentration ranges (0–100 mg kg⁻¹ and up to 1000 mg kg⁻¹) for nutrients and contaminants
Outcomes reported
The study developed and validated empirical calibrations for portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to measure macro and micronutrients (Mg, P, S, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn, Mo) and trace element contaminants (Co, Ni, As, Se, Cd, Pb) in fertilisers. Calibration models achieved R² ≥0.97 for most nutrients and R² ≥0.80 for trace elements, with validated predictions demonstrating high accuracy at concentrations up to 1000 mg kg⁻¹.
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