PhosAgro, one of the world’s leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertiliser producers, has launched a special Green Chemistry grant program together with UNESCO and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Young scientists under the age of 36 will be eligible for grants to support green chemistry research project on innovations in the processing and use of phosphogypsum. Grant applications are being accepted until 10 May 2016, and may be submitted via the UNESCO website: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/science-technology/basic-sciences/chemistry/green-chemistry-for-life/how-to-apply.

This is part of the PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC Green Chemistry for Life project, which was launched at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 29 March 2013.  The goal of this partnership is to support talented young scientists engaged in research in the area of green chemistry with the aim of protecting the environment and human health, as well as developing energy-efficient and environmentally safe technologies using innovative solutions.

This program is unique because it is the first time in the long history of UNESCO, and the entire UN system, that such an initiative is being implemented on an extra-budgetary basis with funding from a Russian company. PhosAgro agreed to support this program to provide grants to young scientists from all over the world aimed at developing new technologies in cooperation with the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO.

Phosphogypsum is a byproduct of phosphate-based fertilizer production. It has a number of potential industrial and agricultural applications, but is not currently widely used. The neutralising qualities of phosphogypsum are useful for melioration of solonetz soil types, as well as for the manufacture of construction materials, cement, paper, plastic and glass.  Its binding qualities make it useful for certain types of road construction.

PhosAgro is actively involved in developing ways to use and process phosphogypsum, including for road construction, in manufacturing gypsum rock that can be used to regulate cement setting rates, and the conversion of phosphogypsum into chemical products. Work on using phosphogypsum for road construction, for example, has been underway since the 1980s at the Balakovo Branch of Apatit in cooperation with scientific organisations.

PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: “Producers of complex fertilizers worldwide face the same challenging, systemic issues regarding the use of by-products and waste materials from the manufacturing process.  This includes phosphogypsum, and generally concerns the amount of resources consumed for production.  In order to motivate young scientists to search for fundamentally new solutions in areas like increasing the efficiency of mineral fertilizer production and uncovering new technologies for the use of by-products, PhosAgro, UNESCO and IUPAC have decided to launch this special grant.”