Head of Laboratory – Scientific Researcher Grade I

Dr. Carmen Eugenia SIRBU
Email: carmen.sirbu@icpa.ro; licci_icpa@yahoo.com; office@icpa.ro
Phone: 021.318.43.49, ext. 266

1. Plant Nutrition and Soil Fertilization
   • Design, formulation and testing of new fertilizers (chemical fertilizers, organo-mineral and organic fertilizers, biofertilizers, controlled-release fertilizers) for application in organic and conventional agriculture;
   • Development, validation, and implementation of new technologies for obtaining fertilizers, biostimulants, and biostimulators, provision of technical assistance in the field of production and application;
   • Study of fertilization technologies used within sustainable production systems;
   • Establishment of fertilization methods for agricultural crops to prevent nutrient dissipation;
   • Optimization of fertilization and soil amendment and plant nutrition;
   • Studies using radioactive tracers in evaluating the efficiency and efficacy of fertilizers and fertilization methods;
   • Studies on translocation and mobility of nutrients using radioactive tracers in the fertilizer-soil-plant and fertilizer-plant systems;
   • Determination of primary, secondary nutrients and microelements in fertilizers in accordance with European and national legislation in the field of chemical fertilizers;
   • Characterization of the agrochemical evolution of soil under the influence of different fertilization and agrotechnical methods;
   • Studies on chemical kinetics and leaching in the fertilizer-soil system;
   • Evaluation of the agrochemical efficiency of fertilizers, development of testing schemes and technologies;
   • Evaluation of the agrochemical efficiency of different phosphorus sources and phosphate rocks for efficient valorization as fertilizers in the context of the circular economy.
2. Sustainable Soil Management
   • Identification and development of new environmentally friendly fertilizer structures;
   • Development of fertilization technologies used within sustainable production systems;
   • Determination and prognosis of the agrochemical evolution of soil under the influence of different fertilization and agrotechnical methods.
3. Management of Industrial, Agricultural, and Urban Waste
   • Possibilities for agricultural use of various industrial and agricultural waste (characterization, formula development and technologies, testing).
4. Implementation and validation activities for new analyses regulated by the application of European and national legislation in the field of fertilizers.
5. Collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the development and implementation of the national and European legislative framework regarding the certification, use, and commercialization of fertilizers.

What We Offer

• Conducting physico-chemical analyses for samples of fertilizers, amendments and raw materials used in their production;
• Research on the development of mineral, organo-mineral, or organic fertilizer formulas;
• Design, implementation and evaluation of agrochemical testing for fertilizers and amendments;
• Conformity assessment of fertilizers to verify compliance with specific requirements set forth in national legislation and/or European legislation for use and commercialization;
• Conformity assessment of fertilizers to verify compliance with specific requirements set forth in standards, proprietary specifications of manufacturers;
• Certification of fertilizer inputs for organic agriculture;
• Research on new products with fertilizing role, fertilization technologies, and the agrochemical evolution of soil under the influence of different agrotechnical and fertilization methods;
• Research on the identification, processing and transformation of by-products that can be used in agriculture as fertilizers, amendments, biostimulators, growing substrates, and growth enhancers;
• Development and validation of technologies for obtaining fertilizer products for application in both conventional and organic agriculture, together with the provision of technical assistance in this field.

• The Laboratory for Testing and Quality Control of Fertilizers – LICCI has been operating since 2008 as an accredited laboratory (accreditation certificate no. LI 673 with annex), accredited by RENAR, based on a management system implemented in accordance with SR EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018, and performs testing activities that comply with the requirements of the reference standard, the client, the RENAR accreditation body, and regulatory authorities.
• Since 2021, the LICCI Laboratory has been registered in the International Network of laboratories involved in conducting analyses in the field of fertilizers – the “International Network on Fertilizers Analysis – INFA”, a member of the Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN). The International Network on Fertilizers Analysis (INFA) was established in December 2020 to build and strengthen laboratory capacity in fertilizer analysis and to harmonize quality standards and fertilizer analysis methods.
• Verification of the laboratory’s capability to perform accredited tests was evaluated through annual participation in PT schemes (proficiency testing program) / ILC (interlaboratory comparison) conducted with the organizer BIPEA, France (SR EN ISO/IEC 17043:2010) and VDLUFA Germany (Association of German Agricultural Analytic and Research Institutes – VDLUFA).
• The laboratory is authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to conduct physico-chemical analyses on fertilizers through Interministerial Order 6/22/2004 for the approval of the Regulation on the organization and operation of the Interministerial Commission for the authorization of fertilizers for inclusion in the list of authorized fertilizers, with the mention RO-FERTILIZER, for use and commercialization in Romania.
• The laboratory is authorized to conduct physico-chemical analyses for fertilizers in accordance with Law 232/2010 on the import regime of fertilizer samples and fertilizers.
• The laboratory is authorized to conduct physico-chemical analyses for fertilizers from inspection activities in accordance with Government Decision no. 1261 of October 17, 2007, on establishing measures for the application of Regulation (EC) no. 2003/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 13, 2003, on fertilizers.
• The laboratory contributes to the harmonization of the legislative and technical framework in the field of fertilizers through participation in the ASRO Technical Committee and technical commissions within MADR.
• The laboratory is a member of the Commission for the authorization of fertilizers for use in agriculture and commercialization, a commission within MADR in accordance with Order 6/22/2004.
• The testing methods for fertilizer analysis used by LICCI are standardized and comply with the references in Annex IV B of Regulation (EC) no. 2003/2003, as subsequently amended, on chemical fertilizers.
• The laboratory developed and implemented in 2020 a procedure for the certification of fertilizer inputs used in organic agriculture.

• ICE 3300 – Atomic Absorption Spectrometer – used for the determination of micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn), calcium, and magnesium in fertilizer products by atomic absorption spectrometry; MANUFACTURER: Thermo Fisher Scientific / United Kingdom;
• CE1011 UV-VIS Spectrometer – used for the determination of boron, biuret, and phosphorus (total, water-soluble, ammonium citrate-soluble) in fertilizer product samples by molecular absorption spectrometry; MANUFACTURER: CECIL Instruments / United Kingdom;
• 410 Sherwood – Flame Photometer – used for the determination of potassium and sodium in fertilizer product samples by flame photometry; MANUFACTURER: Sherwood Scientific / United Kingdom;
• LE14/11/B150 Oven – used for the determination of calcium (total and/or water-soluble) in fertilizer products; MANUFACTURER: Nabertherm / Germany;
• Vapodest VAP 30s Gerhardt Distillation Unit – used for the determination of nitrogen in fertilizer products (ammoniacal, nitric, and urea nitrogen) by volumetric method following different digestion methods; MANUFACTURER: GERHARDT / Germany;
• Digestor 2508 Auto Lift 230V FOSS – used for the digestion of fertilizer products for the determination of nitrogen forms by different methods. MANUFACTURER: FOSS Analytical A/S Denmark;
• Titrator with Combined pH Electrode Titroline Easy – used for the determination of nitrogen in fertilizer products by volumetric method; MANUFACTURER: SCHOTT Instruments GmbH / Germany;
• FT-IR Spectrometer – VERTEX 70 – used for the determination of organic substances in fertilizer products; MANUFACTURER: BRUKER / Germany;
• Ion Chromatograph – Dionex 3000 – used for the determination of organic compounds (chelating agents) and inorganic compounds (anions/cations) in fertilizer products; MANUFACTURER: Thermo Fisher Scientific / United Kingdom.

Services Provided by the Laboratory

Client Interaction