Despite the unprecedented economic woes inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the global MOP industry still managed to endure in 2020, says Andy Hemphill , senior editor for potash at ICIS Fertilizers, thanks to its ‘essential’ status.
No one in this industry should ever need a reminder that commodity markets are cyclical. The corollary of that is – every once in a while – markets can, and will, abruptly change direction.
The United States has imposed duties on Russian and Moroccan phosphate imports.
Fertilizer International presents a global round-up of phosphate rock, phosphoric acid and finished phosphates projects.
It can’t have escaped anyone’s notice that the question of the carbon intensity of ammonia and downstream nitrogen compound production has been one of the main industry talking points for the past year. Everyone seems to be talking about ammonia of different colours – green ammonia, blue ammonia, and all shades of turquoise in between. If you are confused, it may not be surprising, as these words have come to cover a wide variety of different methods and technologies for producing ammonia, and their green credentials consequently come in a whole range of different shades.
The year 2020 will be remembered as an uncertain, demanding and challenging year. When faced with a global pandemic, companies have adopted new approaches and remote inspection, monitoring and training using the latest digital tools has been key for the successful completion of projects. Stamicarbon, Casale and KBR share some of their experiences of the past year.
Natural gas pricing remains the dominant component of ammonia production costs. The fall in global oil and gas prices due to the Covid outbreak and the continued growth in the LNG market is continuing to break the hold of oil indexation on gas pricing. Meanwhile, reform of gas markets continues, in places as diverse as Brazil, China and India.
Ron Olson of The Sulphur Institute considers sulphur’s important role in plant health.
Continuing rationalisation in China’s phosphate industry has been reducing demand for sulphur and sulphuric acid at the same time that the country is producing more of both.
Fires are known to occur in sulphur storage pits and tanks somewhat frequently due to the presence of both flammable material and air, so methods for preventing and extinguishing these fires are critical. D. J. Sachde, K. E. McIntush, C. M. Beitler, and D. L. Mamrosh of Trimeric Corporation review fire suppression methods used in the industry including snuffing/sealing steam, rapid sealing, water mist, and inert gas blanketing. Protective tank design features to reduce the likelihood of a sulphur fire are also reviewed. Benefits and limitations, design considerations, and recommended guidance for suppression and preventative measures are discussed.