Last year the International Energy Agency (IEA), in conjunction with IFA, published the Ammonia Technology Roadmap, which looks at ways of achieving decarbonisation of the nitrogen fertilizer industry by 2050. In this article we look at the scenarios and technology options that will define the industry over the next three decades.
Stamicarbon offers advanced scrubbing technologies for fertilizer granulation plants and prilling towers. This article describes the technology and experience with the second operational MMV scrubber, which is installed at the Dakota Gasification Company’s (DGC) urea granulation plant, and highlights the successful pilot test with its JV scrubbing technology.
Are we on the verge of a fertilizer production, trade and supply crisis? Some usually sober and authoritative voices seem to think so.
Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media
More than 230 delegates from 45 countries participated in CRU’s Sustainable Fertilizer Production Technology Forum, 20-23 September 2021. To highlight this successful virtual event, we report on keynote and selected technical presentations.
Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media
Reducing carbon footprint in the synthesis of chemicals is a new challenge, a necessary requirement in the pursuit of sustainable products designed to minimise environmental impacts during their whole lifecycle. So-called “green” technologies for ammonia, methanol and hydrogen are being developed to meet these challenges. Casale, Linde, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, Toyo Engineering Corporation, Haldor Topsoe and Stamicarbon report on some of their latest developments.
A detailed rain and wastewater concept is an important part of a urea plant to meet current stringent environmental standards. Wastewater can originate from the process reaction or from outside the process equipment. In order to optimise the wastewater system of a urea plant, both the amount and type of contamination need to be known. With this knowledge, non-contaminated rainwater as well as process drains can be kept separate as much as possible to minimise the amount of wastewater to be treated, saving costs and energy. Wastewater treatment concepts from thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions and Toyo Engineering Corporation are described.
Scanfeld™ is the world’s first remote sensing solution for fully automated early-warning gas leak detection for chemical plants. Using FTIR spectroscopy, Scanfeld™ identifies hundreds of different gases in real time from kilometres away. With just a few Scanfeld™ sensor units, large production sites, tank farms, or gas loading areas can be monitored reliably. Gas leaks are quickly detected, and the formation of dangerous gas clouds is monitored, measured, and visualised. René Braun of Grandperspective discusses how the system works and how it is being applied in industry.
Global nitrogen and methanol markets are currently in the grip of a crisis in feedstock prices. Mostly this is about Europe’s dependence on imported natural gas, but – particularly on the methanol side – it has also been exacerbated by high coal prices in China, where heavy rains have led to flooding in Shanxi province, the source of one third of China’s coal. These have followed similar floods in Henan in July, and come at a time when China is facing power rationing due to a lack of electricity supply. The world economy’s long-awaited bounce back from the covid pandemic has also led to a general global surge in energy demand, and consequently higher oil and gas prices.