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.
MegaZonE™ is a newly introduced layered loading technology for boiling water-cooled reactors used for methanol synthesis. This new concept is one of the latest results of the long-standing collaboration between Air Liquide Engineering & Construction and Clariant Catalysts to improve the methanol process flowsheet and optimise catalyst performance in the complete reactor system.
Johnson Matthey and MyRechemical have formed an alliance to commercially develop waste to methanol technology. In this article, two different approaches to waste disposal and chemical production are analysed: a post combustion scenario with waste incineration and hydrogenation of the CO2 recovered from flue gas to produce methanol, and a precombustion approach with waste gasification followed by conversion of synthesis gas into methanol.
The European Union is seeking to create a climate-neutral and circular economy through its flagship Green Deal policy. The fertilizer industry can support these objectives by adopting inhibitor treatment technology (ITT) and controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs) based on biodegradable polymers. These two innovations have a vital role to play in improving nitrogen use efficiency and the shift towards more sustainable resource use, says Dr Matthias Potthoff of thyssenkrupp Fertilizer Technology.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded a $510 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Italy’s Saipem to expand production capacity at the Shah sour gas plant, as the UAE looks to increase its output of gas by 2030. The Optimum Shah Gas Expansion (OSGE) & Gas Gathering project has been awarded by ADNOC Sour Gas, a joint venture between ADNOC and US energy major Occidental. The contract will increase gas processing capacity at the Shah plant by 13% per cent to 1.45 bcf/d from 1.28 bcf/d by 2023 and supports ADNOC’s objective of enabling gas self-sufficiency for the UAE. The Shah gas plant currently meets 12% of the UAE’s total supply of natural gas, as well as producing 5% of the world’s elemental sulphur. The expansion will cumulatively represent a 45% increase on the plant’s original capacity of 1.0 bcf/d when it came on-stream in 2015.
Production has begun at Ivanhoe Mines’ Kakula copper mine in the DRC. The company says that total production for this year is expected to be 80-95,000 t/a of copper in concentrate, with a phase two expansion to 400,000 t/a due to be completed by Q2 2022. Ivanhoe is working with China’s Zijin Mining on the development plan for phases 2 and 3 of the mine, as well as a feasibility study for the Kipushi zinc mine further to the east. Both projects lie close to the DRC’s southern border, with Angola and Zambia respectively. Phase 3 of Kamoa will lift capacity to an anticipated 600-800,000 t/a of copper in concentrate, making it the second largest copper mine in the world after Escondida in Chile. Canadian-based Ivanhoe expects to be digging 3.8 million t/a of ore at Kakula with 6% copper content in Phase 1.
During this time of disruption, keeping connected and informed has never been more important. While the in-person events the industry usually relies on are not possible, CRU’s virtual Sustainable Fertilizer Production Technology Forum, 20-23 September, offers exceptional information sharing and networking opportunities.
Philippe Malsan of Technip Energies explains how high recovery Diplo phosphoric acid technology can generate phosphogypsum suitable for industrial reuse. Industrial cases studies for Senegal and Austria show how phosphogypsum from this process has been successfully recycled on a large scale for cement, plaster and other end uses.
EcoMax™ tail gas catalysts offer a sustainable and cost effective choice for tail gas catalysts. They are made from spent hydroprocessing catalysts, which reduces the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of sourcing fresh cobalt and molybdenum and therefore supports operators’ sustainability goals. B. Visioli of Porocel (a part of Evonik) discusses the benefits of catalyst reuse from hydroprocessing for tail gas treating.
Phosphogypsum is finding increasing use in plaster and cement manufacture, roadbed construction and afforestation. We look at how previously unwanted solid waste generated by the phosphate industry is being turned into a valued resource.