Moroccan Technology Speeds Up Chemical Analysis by 180
A research team from Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, in collaboration with Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, has achieved a breakthrough in operational analytical chemistry. Moroccan researchers have developed an advanced technique based on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to monitor the quality of industrial phosphoric acid with exceptional precision and in real time. Published in Scientific Reports, this innovation offers a definitive solution to the long-standing delay between sample collection and laboratory analysis, which previously took hours or even days.
The system’s key strength lies in its ability to measure the concentration of phosphorus pentoxide in less than ten seconds—making it about 180 times faster than conventional methods. Beyond laser use, the innovation incorporates an advanced chemical framework and integrates twelve machine learning algorithms to process complex spectral data. The best-performing model achieved an impressive predictive accuracy of 0.96, ensuring highly reliable results even in harsh and highly acidic industrial environments.
This breakthrough is expected to accelerate the transition of fertilizer plants and chemical facilities toward Industry 4.0, where quality control becomes continuous and real-time rather than periodic. Such a transformation will reduce chemical waste through immediate anomaly detection and enhance the efficiency of resource, energy, and raw material use. Ultimately, it will contribute to more sustainable production and higher-quality fertilizers relied upon by farmers worldwide.
The project, led by researcher Mohamed El Kouhen with support from UM6P and OCP Group, reflects the growing synergy between academic research and industrial production in Morocco. Researchers believe this methodology can extend beyond phosphoric acid to a wide range of liquid chemical industries, paving the way for a new generation of smart, sustainable factories driven by advanced physics and artificial intelligence—under a distinctly Moroccan vision.
