The stabilization of micronized sulfur colloidal suspensions

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Sulvaris is a Canadian company dedicated to the development of fertilizer technologies specially formulated tosupply crops with the nutrients they need, when they need them, while minimizing agricultural waste.Micronized Sulfur Technology (MSTTM) is one of Sulvaris' most promising technology platforms, wheremicronized elemental sulfur particles slowly oxidize into plant available sulphate in the season of application.In the Liquid MSTTM product, sulphur particles are suspended in solution and applied using liquid fertilizerapplication equipment. The Engage grant awarded to Dr. Bryant and Sulvaris in 2017 aided in addressing oneof the biggest challenges faced with this technology; maintaining a stable suspension during storage. Thestate-of-the-art materials engineering facility run by Dr. Steven Bryant provided high quality personnel and thenewest technologies for understanding the unique interactions between the particles and the viscosity modifiersenlisted to prevent sedimentation. Microscopy allowed for the effects of different additives on the physicalcharacteristics of the particles (size, shape and topography) to be revealed. These characteristics were thencorrelated to the settling times of the particles. In addition, the physical characteristics of the viscositymodifiers were also correlated to particle settling times. The strong collaboration formed between Sulvaris andDr. Bryant provided a fuller understanding of the interactions that take place between the sulfur particles anddifferent combinations of surfactants, rheology modifiers and salts. With this understanding, new formulationsare being developed whereby particle stability will expectantly be enhanced such that farmers can readily applythe product to their crops without having to re-suspend the active ingredient. Through the Engage plus grant,Sulvaris and Dr. Bryant will be able to further examine these formulations with the end goal of developmentand commercialization of Liquid MSTTM. This will be an economic benefit to Canada and the agriculturalindustry.