CONNECT 2021

Reclaiming those lost nutrients from fertilizer runoff also means less fertilizer will need to be produced. “If we can capture lost nutrients and … recycle them, then we can cut down on the deleterious impact that we’re having on the environment just to procure fertilizer,” Apblett said. “Without [fertilizer enhancing crop yields], we’d have to look around and figure out what small percentage of humans is going to survive because, without fertilizer to produce food, we can’t maintain our population.” The material is essentially porous granules that binds the nutrients to it. Once the material is loaded with nutrients, it can be dried and applied to lawns and crops. “The way to treat a pond would be to run water through columns [containing these materials], although we have a trough-based system, system that was designed by a local company in collaboration with OSU,” Apblett said. Once the water has run through these systems, purified water would go back in the pond and all the nutrients would remain in the columns or troughs, where they can be used again to grow crops, Apblett said. “We’ve also recently demonstrated that the presence of these [materials on a field], even after they delivered the nitrate and phosphorus will prevent fertilizer runoff,” Apblett said. “So, if somebody applies a soluble fertilizer, they’ll capture those nutrients again and release them slowly.” This project is being funded by a 2020 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to research how to prevent and control algal blooms. As one of seven awarded this grant, the team’s research is unique. “A lot of people take different approaches [to treating algae blooms],” said Nicholas Materer, a professor and chair of the OSUDepartment of Chemistry. “And that’s one thing good about science — everybody can take different approaches, and we figure out which one works the best.” No matter what, the research is still engaging. “It’s really exciting to do something new,” Materer said. “You don’t want to do the same reaction, the same chemistry over and over again. So we like to find problems. And once you work on these new problems, you get to understand the problem and get to meet the people involved, so there’s also a human side to it.” Hopefully, this new technology will be a solution to improve water and fertilizing methods across Oklahoma and the nation. Once the team finishes their tests, the next step is applying this material to larger projects. “I think that Nick and I would be happy to work with others,” Apblett said. “We want to look specifically at getting this optimized for farms and do a pilot test.” Nicholas Materer and Allen Apblett “The objective of the research is to develop a novel technology for sustainably and economically preventing harmful algal blooms in farmwatering ponds.” ALLEN APBLETT OSU COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SC I ENCES 23