Real-time chemical precision: Moroccan study gains global recognition

A team from Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Benguerir, working alongside Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, has achieved what researchers describe as a transformative breakthrough in operational analytical chemistry.

Through a study, recently published in Scientific Reports, part of the prestigious Nature portfolio, unveiled a technology capable of monitoring the quality of industrial phosphoric acid with exceptional precision and in real time.

Its significance lies in solving a long-standing industrial challenge: the delay between sampling and laboratory analysis. Traditional methods such as ICP-OES often require hours or even days to deliver results.

The Moroccan researchers instead developed a system based on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), capable of producing accurate measurements of phosphorus pentoxide concentration in under ten seconds—roughly 180 times faster than conventional techniques.

The innovation extends beyond laser use alone. The team designed an advanced chemometric framework and tested twelve machine-learning algorithms to interpret complex spectral data. According to the published findings, the best-performing model, Partial Least Squares (PLS), achieved a predictive accuracy coefficient of 0.96, ensuring reliability even in harsh, highly acidic industrial environments.

This breakthrough could accelerate the transition of fertilizer plants and chemical facilities toward Industry 4.0, where quality control becomes continuous rather than periodic.

Among the expected benefits are reduced chemical waste through immediate anomaly detection, stronger resource efficiency, lower energy and raw material consumption, and more stable product quality for farmers relying on fertilizer supplies.

Led by researchers including Mohamed El Kohen, the project was supported by UM6P and OCP Group, illustrating the growing synergy between academic research and industrial production in Morocco.

Beyond phosphoric acid alone, the researchers say the methodology can be adapted to numerous liquid-processing chemical industries, offering a blueprint for a new generation of intelligent, sustainable factories driven by advanced physics and artificial intelligence.