Magazine: Nitrogen+Syngas

OCI Global says that it has reached an agreement for the sale of 100% of its interest in its large-scale nitrogen fertilizer subsidiary the Iowa Fertilizer Company LLC, located in Wever, Iowa, to Koch Ag & Energy Solutions for $3.6 billion. Completion of the transaction remains subject to US anti-trust approval and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in 2024. Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc is serving as financial advisor to OCI on the transaction. IFCO produced 1.2 million t/a of urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) in 2021 and 700,000 t/a of anhydrous ammonia, as well as 700,000 t/a of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF).

In spite of nearly two years of western sanctions, Russian exports of nitrogen fertilizer have recovered almost to pre-war levels, while high prices led to record earnings in 2022.

Today some 75% of all urea plants worldwide operate a prilling tower as the solidification and finishing technology. A prilling tower is a large hollow concrete tower in which concentrated urea melt is sprayed from the top via a rotating bucket or static shower heads. The urea melt droplets cool and solidify while falling down some 70-100 m. The heat is removed by ambient air flowing upwards either as a natural draft due to the temperature increase or forced by means of air blowers.

Maire Group subsidiary MyRechemical has been awarded a feasibility study for the integration of its proprietary waste-tosyngas technology in a large-scale conversion plant that would transform solid municipal waste into 120,000 t/a of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). MyRechemical would provide the gasification unit to transform solid waste streams into synthesis gas, which would then be converted into low carbon ethanol and then to SAF.

As Europe struggles to move away from its previous dependence on imported Russian natural gas, prices have been high and volatile, with a corresponding catastrophic impact upon domestic ammonia production.

We are very pleased to be able to tell you that, as of this issue, Nitrogen+Syngas magazine has a new publisher. Or rather, an old publisher, as the magazine is now once again part of the CRU Group.

Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited has appointed Vighneshwar G Bhat as company secretary and compliance officer. Bhat, is an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and a Law Graduate and holds master’s degree in commerce with more than 20 years of experience in secretarial and legal functions. Prior to joining the company, he was company secretary for Sobha Ltd, and has specialised in corporate secretarial matters including mergers and acquisitions, handling liquidations and SEBI & FEMA compliances.

Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media

The ammonia industry is expected to change drastically in the coming years to meet sustainability goals and to face the problem of climate change. New low carbon ammonia plants as well as fully green facilities are expected to be commissioned to meet the target of climate neutral production. The integration of an existing ammonia facility with green hydrogen to supplement or replace the grey ammonia production with green ammonia represents a low-risk solution to meet the requirement for running clean ammonia plants and offers the most competitive green ammonia production cost in the short term. In this article Sergio Panza and Marco M. Carlucci of Casale paper present different scenarios based on energy availability at battery limits.

While producing ammonia with hydrogen from electrolysis remains expensive, large scale lower carbon ammonia has focused on carbon capture and storage from existing plants, so-called ‘blue’ ammonia. But exactly how green is blue?