In 2020, Monband collaborated with Dr. Kang Yaowei, an expert of plant rhizobia and microbial fertilizer, to screen a strain or a group of microorganisms with the capability to generate humic acid through fermenting together with low-rank coal.

Over 10,000 microbial isolates have been screened for their bioactivities to convert lowrank coal into humic acids from various soil samples and coal samples collected from more than 25 Chinese provinces.

Published in Fertilizer Focus of Vol 38 • Issue 6 --November/December 2021 by Argus Media