magazine | january/february 2020
TRANSCRIPT
World Leaders In Reformer Revamps, Plant Relocations and Modernizations El Dorado Chemicals Co. - Ammonia Revamp Project • Completed 2015
MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
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ON THE COVER
CONTENTS
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03 Comment
05 World News
10 Standing StrongGordon Cope, Contributing Editor, explores how fertilizer producers in Europe are reacting to a host of changes – both good and bad.
14 Solving The Air Quality ChallengeDamion Adams, Kevin Bley and Jeremias Shreyer, CECO Environmental, USA, review the technologies available to the industry to ensure compliance with air quality standards during fertilizer production.
19 A Strategic Partnership: Part Two Heinz Tischmacher, Tischmacher & Partner, Germany, continues his review of a project that aims to bring the fertilizer and cement industries together to tackle the issue of CO
2 emissions.
23 Melding Melamine And UreaG. Di Carlo, Casale, Switzerland, reviews the design of an integrated melamine and urea unit in the Indian state of Gujarat.
29 The Making Of MelamineStefano Sassi, Eurotecnica, Italy, explores the development of high pressure melamine technology.
33 When Less Is MoreJuergen Neumann and Brad Cook, Sabin Metal Corp., USA, present the case for reducing the number of gauze layers in a catalyst system for ammonia oxidation.
37 A New Kind Of Tunnel VisionDaniel Znidersic, BD Energy Systems, USA, reviews a new tunnel design for steam methane reformers.
41 Covering All BasesThomas Fortinberry, Reformer Services, USA, stresses the importance of integrity technology that can affect the entire circumference of a reformer tube, rather than just the fired side.
44 Full Steam AheadJens Hetzer and Dr Jörg Weidenfeller, Arvos | Schmidt’sche Schack, Germany, highlight the importance of the steam system in ammonia plants and present a case study of a process gas cooler replacement.
49 Carry On CyclingDaniel Sparr, BERTSCHenergy, Austria, explores the challenges ammonia plant operators face when adopting a ‘cycle-up’ strategy.
53 Welding SolutionsMichael Maier, ACE, Austria, looks at automated tube-to-tubesheet welding as a solution for waste heat boiler manufacturing.
60 Handling The HeatPhillip E. Prueter, Equity Engineering Group, USA, comments on attempts in the ammonia production industry to tackle high temperature hydrogen attack.
69 A Mammoth ChallengeJörn Baasner, SICK, Germany, recounts a recent project in which analysers and a self-cleaning in situ measuring probe were applied for reliable gas measurement in environments with wet dusts.
71 Safety Is KeyDaniel Marshall, Martin Engineering, USA, discusses unsafe work practices around conveyor belts.
76 Forging A New PathLaura Dean, Deputy Editor of World Fertilizer, details the development of a new ammonia plant in Kingisepp, Russia.
80 FactsThis month we bring you 15 facts from Europe.
BD Energy Systems, LLC – a leader in turnkey revamp solutions – has executed more than 190 successful projects globally on ammonia, methanol, GTL and hydrogen plants of various licensor designs including refinery furnace revamps. The company’s executed projects include: plant relocations, plant relocation economics, furnace revamps and modernisations, furnace and plant optimisation projects – for energy savings, production increase, NO
X reduction. Additional services include plant evaluations, turnaround planning,
construction/technical advisory services, training, commissioning and start-up services.
World Leaders In Reformer Revamps, Plant Relocations and Modernizations El Dorado Chemicals Co. - Ammonia Revamp Project • Completed 2015
MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
Laura Dean, Deputy Editor of World Fertilizer, details the development of a new ammonia
plant in Kingisepp, Russia.
G eopolitical tensions can often create problems for businesses, especially those which operate on a global scale. Trade arguments and tariff disputes
spell uncertainty for manufacturers and others who need reliable access to raw materials
without the threat of export restrictions or prohibitive duties. Working towards self-suffi ciency can be a costly strategy and one that is not open to all, but for those with the ability to make such a long-term commitment, it can pay off over time.
76
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COMMENTLAURA DEAN, DEPUTY EDITOR
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 | WORLD FERTILIZER | 3
MANAGING EDITORJames [email protected]
DEPUTY EDITORLaura [email protected]
ASSISTANT EDITORNicholas [email protected]
SALES DIRECTORRod [email protected]
SALES MANAGERBen [email protected]
SALES MANAGERChris [email protected]
PRODUCTIONGabriella [email protected]
ADMINISTRATION MANAGERLaura [email protected]
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It is a well-established fact that most New Year’s resolutions fail. Common choices of ‘reading more’, ‘eating better’ and ‘exercising more’ are wishy-washy statements with no set goals or
deadlines, meaning that they are often easy to give up as there is usually no measureable moment of achievement.
This year, instead of punishing myself with a long-term resolution, which I probably would have already failed and forgotten about by now, I chose to set myself a more short-term challenge: Veganuary.
People have many reasons for participating in increasingly popular month-long movements such as
Dry January and Veganuary, including raising awareness for specifi c charities, saving money, losing weight, general health and wellbeing, etc. Personally, one of the main reasons I chose to take up a plant-based diet for a month was to do with my cooking abilities – or lack of.
Most of my meals pre-Veganuary consisted of what was cheap and easiest to cook in the shortest amount of time, often resulting in food that was lacking nutrition and covered in cheese. Forcing myself to spend time researching recipes and preparing fresh food has allowed me to become more self-suffi cient on my own cooking, no longer as reliant on pre-packaged and processed food.
India, too, has been making efforts to become more self-suffi cient on its own resources. In January 2020, the central government announced that fi ve (previously closed) fertilizer plants set to be reinstated are expected to help the country achieve zero import dependancy on urea. Current production of urea amounts to 24 million tpy, meaning that India has to import 8 million tpy in order to meet the country’s 32 million tpy need. The revived sites are expected to produce a total of 6.25 million tpy of urea, drastically reducing the nation’s reliance on imports.1
The fi ve plants are located at Talcher in Odisha, Ramagundam in Andhra Pradesh, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Sindri in Jharkhand and Barauni in Bihar. The fi rst plant, a coal gasifi cation based fertilizer plant owned by Talcher Fertilizers Ltd, is scheduled to be commissioned by September 2023, with an estimated 10 000 people expected to obtain either direct or indirect employment as a result of the project.1
The central government of India is not the only body that is working towards becoming more self-suffi cient within the fertilizer industry. In July 2019, I was invited to Russia by the EuroChem Group to visit its newly opened ammonia plant in Kingisepp. The US$1 billion project has been designed to ensure that the company can be self-suffi cient on an important component of its fertilizer production needs. If you are interested in learning more about this project, you can turn to p. 76 to read an in-depth article outlining the current accomplishments and what the company have planned for Kingisepp’s future.
1. ‘India aims at zero urea import with commissioning of 5 units,’ (20 January 2020), economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/chem-/-fertilisers/india-aims-at-zero-urea-import-with-commissioning-of-5-units/articleshow/73436684.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
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METAL SEATED CONTROL VALVEZERO LEAKAGEas per API598
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WORLD NEWS
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 | WORLD FERTILIZER | 5
Anglo American and Sirius Minerals have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash
acquisition pursuant to which Anglo shall acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Sirius for £404.9 million.
If approved, under the terms of the acquisition Sirius shareholders shall be entitled to receive 5.50 pence in cash for each share.
Sirius Minerals is the operator of the Woodsmith underground mine located in North Yorkshire, UK, which has an estimated capacity of 10 million tpy of polyhalite, a fertilizer
that contains potassium, sulfur, magnesium and calcium. The company has had to slow development of the project in recent months however, abandoning the offering of a US$500 million bond in August 2019 due to turbulent global markets, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the UK government’s refusal to provide financial backing.
The board of Sirius has recommended that the acquisition be approved by its shareholders, and warned that failure to do so would mean a high probability of the company being placed into administration or liquidated.
UK Board of Sirius Minerals agrees acquisition by Anglo American
C ronus Fertilizers has announced that Titan Chemicals Holding, an entity controlled by Keyman-Avunduk
Investment Co. AG (KAIC), has become the majority shareholder for its ammonia project in Tuscola, Illinois, US.
KAIC brings additional fi nancial backing and industry experience to advance the planned facility. Upon completion, the Tuscola facility will be one of the largest of its kind in the US, producing up to 2300 tpd of ammonia. Cronus Fertilizers, a subsidiary of Cronus Chemicals, has said this will give regional farmers access to locally produced ammonia and largely remove the need for imported products. The facility will be a major new source of ammonia for the agricultural industries of the Midwest Corn Belt.
Project groundbreaking is expected to take place in the second half of 2020. The project will employ between
1500 and 2000 people at the height of construction and up to 200 full-time equivalent operators at commencement of operations, which is projected to be in the fi rst half of 2024.
Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (TKIS) will be the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project. In October 2018, TKIS executed a fi xed price lump-sum turnkey (LSTK) contract with Cronus Fertilizers to build the facility, following an extensive review process between the two companies that began in 2017.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) has approved permitting for the project’s original design. Cronus Fertilizers reapplied to IEPA for an air permit for the revised project design in November 2019.
The company has said it will provide further updates to the project timeline as development advances.
USA Cronus Fertilizers ammonia project receives new shareholder
Stamicarbon, the innovation and licence company of Maire Tecnimont Group, is to licence the technology for a
grassroots urea plant in Talcher, India, for Talcher Fertilizers Ltd. The new ammonia and urea complex will mark the revival of urea production in the Angul district of the eastern state of Odisha.
The company will deliver the process design package for a 3850 tpd melt and prilling plant. The urea melt plant will feature a pool condenser design and the complete synthesis section will be carried out in Safurex® stainless steel. The commissioning of the plant is expected in 2023.
The role of fertilizers, particularly urea, is paramount for meeting the growing food requirements of India. The country’s
present production of urea is 24 million tpy, meaning that 8 million tpy needs to be imported in order to meet current requirements. As part of an initiative to improve the country’s self-sufficiency in urea production, promote agricultural growth and increase the reliability of urea supply to farmers, the Indian government is targeting an increase in the availability of domestically produced urea and announced in July 2019 the reopening of five closed units, including at the complex in Talcher.
The other units that are to be re-opened are located at Ramagundam in Andhra Pradesh, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Sindri in Jharkhand and Barauni in Bihar. The fi ve units will produce a total of 6.25 million tpy of urea upon completion.
INDIA Stamicarbon to licence technology for Talcher urea plant
WORLD NEWSIN BRIEF
6 | WORLD FERTILIZER | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Government subsidies available for Khemisset potash project
Karnalyte Resources receives fi rst draft of pre-feasibility study for Proteos nitrogen project
KBR ammonia synthesis technology selected for India urea project
The Fertilizer Institute names new President
Australian Potash advances FEED programme for Lake Wells sulfate of potash project
CF Fertilizers awards Bilfi nger UK three-year maintenance contract
EuroChem makes board changes
Visit our website for more news:
www.worldfertilizer.com
Salt Lake Potash has signed a binding term sheet with
HELM AG, a German-based chemical and fertilizer company, for the sale and distribution of sulfate of potash (SOP) produced from the Lake Way project in Western Australia. The agreement between the two companies is for a volume commitment of 50 000 tpy for a period of 10 years.
Salt Lake Potash has now secured 220 000 tpy of offtake, representing 90% of the total planned production from the project, for five and 10 year
terms from commencement of shipping in 2021, with take or pay arrangements on product resale.
In November 2019, the company signed production offtakes with Unifert, Indagro and Fertisur for the sale and distribution of a combined total of 170 000 tpy of SOP from Lake Way.
The company has said final purchase agreements based on the executed term sheets are well advanced with each of the offtake counterparties.
AUSTRALIA Salt Lake Potash and HELM AG sign sulfate of potash production offtake agreement
USA American Pacifi c Borates considering increasing sulfate of potash production at Fort Cady
American Pacifi c Borates Ltd. (ABR) has commenced a revision to
the Fort Cady borate mine defi nite feasibility study (DFS) to potentially increase sulfate of potash (SOP or K
2SO
4) production and EBITDA.
The company’s board is considering increasing SOP production for a variety of reasons, including that the US is currently a net importer of SOP and that the mine is located on the US west coast, a major consuming area for SOP.
There will be no change to mineral resources, ore reserves or assumed DFS mine life as the production targets for boric acid will remain unchanged.
The board expects CAPEX estimates for phases 1B, 2 and 3 will increase and that OPEX estimates will decrease with fixed costs spread over larger production. The board also expects these increases to be offset by additional EBITDA commensurate with high margin byproduct production of SOP.
REPUBLIC OF CONGO Kore Potash purchases drill rigs from Equity Drilling
Kore Potash, the potash exploration and development company
whose fl agship asset is the 97%-owned Sintoukola potash project in the Republic of Congo, has completed the
purchase of two drill rigs and ancillary equipment from Equity Drilling Ltd., to be used for the company’s Dougou Extension pre-feasibility study drilling campaign.
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WORLD NEWS
8 | WORLD FERTILIZER | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
DIARY DATESNitrogen + Syngas 202017 – 19 February 2020The Hague, Netherlandsevents.crugroup.com/nitrogenandsyngas/home
Laurance Reid Gas Conditioning Conference24 – 27 February 2020Norman, Oklahoma, USpacs.ou.edu/lrgcc
Phosphates 202008 – 10 March 2020Paris, Franceevents.crugroup.com/phosphates/home
Syngas 202009 – 11 March 2020Memphis, Tennessee, USsyngasassociation.com
Sulphur World Symposium20 – 22 April 2020Chicago, Illinois, USsulphurinstitute.org/symposium20
Annual International Phosphate Fertilizer & Sulfuric Acid Technology Conference12 – 13 June 2020Clearwater, Florida, USaiche-cf.org/content.php?page=Clearwater_Conference
65th Annual Safety in Ammonia Plants and Related Facilities Symposium30 August – 03 September 2020Munich, Germanyaiche.org/conferences/annual-safety-ammonia-plants-and-related-facilities-symposium/2020
Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia15 – 17 September 2020Houston, Texas, UStps.tamu.edu
Gulf Coast Ammonia LLC (GCA), part of the Agrifos group of fertilizer
development companies, has closed on non-recourse project fi nancing for its anhydrous ammonia plant in Texas, US.
Construction capital will be provided by a joint venture (JV) of Starwood Energy Group Global LLC (Starwood Energy) and Mabanaft GmbH & Co. KG (Mabanaft), which fully own GCA.
The facility will have a production capacity of approximately 1.3 million tpy of ammonia and will purchase hydrogen and nitrogen gases as feedstock from Air Products, providing for significant capital efficiency and reduced air emissions. Construction of the facility will begin in early
2020, with commissioning expected in the first half of 2023.
GCA’s facility will be located within the Eastman Chemical site in Texas City and will offer advantageous logistics with deepwater access and pipeline connectivity. Oiltanking North America (a sister company of Mabanaft) will own and operate the marine facilities. The facility will be the world’s largest single-train ammonia synthesis loop.
GCA has secured long-term offtake contracts for the majority of its production capacity and long-term supply agreements for its feedstock.
The facility will create more than 40 permanent operations jobs and more than 1000 construction jobs at peak.
USA Gulf Coast Ammonia reaches FID on Texas ammonia plant
ERITREA EMW to be mining contractor for Colluli project
Danakali Ltd. has announced that the Colluli Mining Share Co. (CMSC) has
confi rmed Earth Moving Worldwide (EMW) as its preferred contractor for the Colluli sulfate of potash project’s mining services scope.
The mining services scope covers the pre-production period plus the first five years of production at the project. The scope includes the provision, operation and maintenance of excavation, haulage and dewatering equipment. A competitive tendering process was conducted with
technical support from AMC Consultants and Majesso Consulting. Both have considerable experience in managing mining tenders in developing countries.
Execution of the mining services contract is expected early in 2020 and production is expected to commence in 2022.
Danakali has also received the proceeds of the first tranche of its US$50 million strategic equity investment from Africa Finance Corp. (AFC). The investment will go towards project development and construction.
AUSTRALIA Agrimin updates Mackay potash reserve estimate
Agrimin Ltd. has reported an updated mineral resource estimate for the
Mackay potash project in Western Australia, following data collection and hydrogeological modelling.
The drainable mineral resource has been upgraded to 123 million t of SOP (based
on drainable porosity). The in situ mineral resource now exceeds 1 billion t of SOP (based on total porosity).
The new estimate confi rms Lake Mackay as Australia’s largest SOP deposit.
The ore reserve is scheduled for completion in 1Q20.
10
urope’s fertilizer sector is rapidly evolving. Regulations are tightening up on production and usage, farming subsidies are being reduced, and growers are gravitating towards organics.
Consequently, producers are responding in a number of ways.
NitrogenAmmonia capacity in Europe stands at approximately 21 million tpy. Production plants are spread over 17 different countries, with Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Romania accounting for over half.
Gordon Cope, Contributing Editor, explores how fertilizer producers in Europe are reacting to a host of changes – both good and bad.
11
In 2017, western and central Europe produced 14.5 million t of nitrogen fertilizers. EU consumption, mainly in the form of ammonium nitrate (AN), stood at approximately 11.4 million tpy. Until recently, European ammonia producers endured relatively high feedstock and energy costs, but the price of gas has plummeted in recent years, partly due to new supplies of LNG emanating from North America and Russia. The outlook for gas prices in Europe looks to remain low for the foreseeable future, as the imminent commissioning of Nord Stream 2 will add a further 50 billion m3/yr to the mix.
12 | WORLD FERTILIZER | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
In May 2019, ANWIL began building three new units at its chemical complex in Wloclawek, Poland: a 1200 tpd nitric acid unit, an AN solution unit, and a drum granulation unit. The new modules will allow it to convert spare ammonia capacity into fertilizer products for the domestic market. When the new additions come onstream in 2022, total fertilizer capacity will rise from 966 000 tpy to 1.46 million tpy.
In June 2019, Swiss-based EuroChem Group opened a new ammonia plant in Kingisepp, Russia. The US$1 billion plant is designed to produce 1 million tpy. The output will be used in EuroChem’s European and Russian blending plants.
PhosphorusEU agriculture consumes approximately 1.3 million tpy of phosphorus fertilizer. Except for small deposits in Finland, economic reserves of phosphate rock do not exist in Europe. The essential fertilizer ingredient must be imported from Morocco, Russia and other nations, and is then blended into nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) fertilizer.
Israel-based ICL Fertilizers, a major supplier of phosphate fertilizer to the EU, has stated that it intends to replace up to 15% of their phosphate rock usage with recovered phosphate from sewage, ashes and other sustainable sources.
In late 2018, the EU announced a cap on cadmium levels in fertilizers. The heavy metal (which is present in most phosphate deposits) is toxic, and exposure to it is known to cause cancer as well as adversely affect the body’s lung, heart and intestines. While medical research varies when defining levels of safe exposure, the cap sets a limit of 60 mg/kg of fertilizer.
Russia’s PhosAgro and Norway’s Yara have phosphate deposits with low levels of cadmium, while Morocco and Tunisia have deposits that exceed the limit. Fertilizers Europe, an EU mineral fertilizer lobby group, welcomed a cap, but said that the 60 mg/kg limit was too low. The European Parliament has yet to formally ratify the cap.
PotassiumThe EU produces, on average, 4.3 million tpy of potash, mainly from Germany, Spain and the UK. Consumption stands at 5.5 million tpy, primarily as fertilizer.
The majority of the EU’s production comes from the Zechstein formation, a large Permian evaporate sequence that outcrops in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), EU reserves exceed 240 million t.
Poor weather in the spring of 2019 struck the Midwest growing region in North America, signifi cantly limiting fertilizer applications. In order to deal with a glut of potash supply, manufacturers curtailed production. German-based K+S, which launched its Bethune potash plant in Canada in 2017, reached its ramp-up goal of 1.4 million tpy in 2018, and had set a target of 1.7 – 1.9 million tpy in 2019. In September 2019, however, it underwent a maintenance and quality improvement period that reduced its output to the lower end of the target. The company also reduced its domestic production by 300 000 t for the year.
PolyhalitePolyhalite is an evaporitic sedimentary deposit that can be converted into a potassium magnesium sulfate (SOPM) fertilizer. The market for SOPM is relatively small, approximately 2.5 million tpy. Proponents of SOPM note that the mix also delivers sulfur, calcium and low chloride products to the soil.
The saga of Sirius Minerals’ greenfield polyhalite underground project, the Woodsmith mine, has taken several twists and turns over the last year. Approximately 2.7 billion t of polyhalite ore rest beneath the North Sea, just off the coast of North Yorkshire, UK. Sirius’s US$5 billion undertaking involves drilling two vertical shafts to a depth of 1.5 km and then horizontally mining the deposit. The ore will then transported to the port of Teesside on a 37 km underground conveyor belt.
Sirius started 2019 well when it landed a major distribution agreement with BayWa Agri Supply and Trade (BAST), a European agribusiness. The deal called for a gradual ramp-up of deliveries of Sirius’s POLY4 fertilizer product to 2.5 million tpy, or 25% of its expected 10 million tpy capacity.
In May 2019, the company announced a US$3.8 billion fi nancing plan with JP Morgan that would take the project to stage II of construction. As part of the deal, Sirius was required to issue a US$500 million bond. In August 2019, however, it announced that it was delaying the offering due to turbulent global markets, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the UK government’s refusal to back the project.
The announcement initially diminished Sirius’s value, but the stock price recovered slightly in October 2019, when the publicly-traded company announced an agreement with Qatar’s state owned Mutajat fertilizer company to buy and distribute up to 2 million tpy of POLY4.
In late January 2020, Anglo American agreed to pay £404.9 million in cash for Sirius Minerals. The deal would put the project back on track. “We intend to bring Anglo American’s financial, technical and product marketing resources and capabilities to the development of the project, which of course would be expected to unlock a significant and sustained associated employment and economic stimulus for the local area,” said Anglo American Chief Executive Mark Cutifani.
OrganicsOrganic fertilizer, derived from animal and vegetable waste, has reached a significant portion of the market in Europe. According to Allied Market Research, the European organic fertilizer market was worth US$2.45 billion in 2016, and is expected to grow at an annual rate exceeding 4%, reaching a value of US$3.26 billion by 2023.
Rich in natural sources of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, organic fertilizer also contributes other facets, including increasing humus content, as well as nurturing beneficial microorganisms and augmenting the general fertility of the soil.
EnvironmentThe fertilizer sector is vitally engaged in historical, current and future pollution and environmental concerns
within Europe. “Yara’s mission is to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet,” says Tove Andersen, Executive Vice President of Production at Yara. “We have already removed about half of our direct GHG emissions in the past few decades, and we’re working towards carbon neutrality by 2050.”
Fertilizer process designers such as Haldor Topsoe and KBR have improved catalyst performance by up to 40%, reducing energy consumption per unit of output. Thyssenkrupp has developed a new technology that reduces nitric oxide (NO) GHG emissions, which, tonne per tonne, are up to 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2). ANWIL is installing the technology in its new fertilizer plant in Poland.
Europe has a major legacy issue with potash mining. Approximately 3 kg of salt waste is produced to make 1 kg of potash. Over the last century, insufficient care in isolating waste heaps at potash mines has resulted in significant freshwater pollution, including the aquifers beneath areas in eastern France, as well as rivers in Germany and Spain.
Scientists have shown that salinisation causes harm to agriculture and fisheries, as well as producing chlorinated and brominated compounds which are known to cause increased levels of bladder cancer. The government of the Spanish region of Catalonia has spent approximately €200 million to alleviate potash residues in drinking water collected from the Llobregat river basin, and the French government is engaged in the rehabilitation of 17 waste piles.
Further action is required to prod laggards. In 2018, the European Commission threatened legal action against Spain for violating the Extractive Waste Directive and the Water Framework Directive. The federal government is being accused of not adequately regulating pollution emanating from the 50 million t of waste tailings adjacent to the El Cogullo potash mine in northeast Spain.
The futureThe EU encourages all sectors to reduce their carbon footprint, and the fertilizer industry is looking at imaginative ways to comply. In August 2019, Yara and Nel entered into an agreement to test the latter’s electrolyser technology at its ammonia fertilizer plant in Porsgrunn, Norway.
The technology, almost a century old, uses electricity to create pure hydrogen from water. Nel is working on the latest generation of electrolysers in order to optimise production. When the unit enters production in 2022, it will produce a hydrogen stream that Yara can convert into ammonia and fertilizer.
“We are very pleased with the partnership with Nel”, said Jon Sletten, plant manager in Porsgrunn. “Our ammonia plant will make the first small step towards carbon free fertilizer production. When further developed, Yara Porsgrunn will be in a unique position also due to the low carbon footprint from our nitric acid plants.”
European producers are seeking out synergies, cost savings and growth markets in other jurisdictions, and will continue to do so in the future. In April 2019, Norway-based Yara and German chemical giant BASF’s ammonia plant at the latter’s Freeport complex in Texas, US, reached full production. Instead of using natural gas as a feedstock, the US$600 million facility uses hydrogen supplied from production processes at nearby petrochemical plants to produce 750 000 tpy. BASF uses its share of the output to produce fibres and auto parts, and Yara manufactures fertilizer for the North American market.
EuroChem has opened three fertilizer blending plants in Brazil. Its latest is a facility in the south-eastern state of Mina Giras, near the city of Araquari. “Brazil is an important growth market for us and our new plant at Araguari marks the latest stage of our expansion in Latin America,” said Petter Ostbo, Chief Executive of EuroChem. In 2018, EuroChem’s Brazilian subsidiary, FTO, sold more than 1.8 million t of blended fertilizers.
In conclusion, fertilizer in the EU is a mature sector that is seeing largely static growth in traditional NPK usage, but producers are seeking ways to improve their environmental performance and investing in regions such as South America that are showing growth, and North America, where unit costs are lower.
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NITROGEN + SYNGAS 2020
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