Tag: RATE

Developments in sulphuric acid technology and engineering know-how are highlighted by recent project case studies from DuPont Clean Technologies, Metso Outotec and thyssenkrupp Uhde.

What lessons can be learnt from the successful commissioning and start-up of major fertilizer industry construction projects? Recent case studies from the nitrogen, phosphate and potash industries provide some interesting answers.

Magnesium, a key constituent of chlorophyll, plays a vital role in plant photosynthesis and carbohydrate production. Commercial sources of this essential crop nutrient include Epsom salt, kieserite, langbeinite, magnesium chloride and magnesium nitrate.

More than 560 delegates participated in CRU’s Phosphates 2021 Virtual Conference, 23-25 March 2021. To highlight this successful event, we report on keynote and selected commercial and technical presentations.

Filters can be a common bottleneck in overall plant operations. Jerold Johnson and Brad Bentley of WesTech outline how upstream modernisation or upgrades to the thickener can have significant benefits for the efficiency of filter operations downstream. Results are applicable to the dewatering of phosphate tailings and other fine particle tailings.

CF Industries has signed an agreement with thyssenkrupp to develop a commercial-scale green ammonia project at its Donaldsonville production complex in Louisiana.

Maya Rehill of Anglo American Crop Nutrients discusses the latest crop trial findings for the polyhalite product POLY4 with the company’s regional agronomists. These highly positive trial results add to an already extensive evidence base on POLY4’s crop benefits.

The ammonia industry has always dealt with fluctuations in supply and demand as well as volatile feedstock and energy costs. The unexpected global pandemic that started in 2020 has injected a higher degree of uncertainty for ammonia manufacturers’ operating costs and product demand for fertilizer. W. Poe of AVEVA discusses how advanced process control systems can help ammonia producers turn economic uncertainty into a competitive advantage.

In August 2020 the tragic explosion of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in the port of Beirut caused many fatalities and injuries. This was a wake-up call for the entire industry to review the design of plants and storage facilities, as well as the procedures for plant operation and the handling of products. The key factor for safe new installations is the process design: the right choice of unit operations, operating temperatures and pressures, the control of process variables and the design of key items of equipment. A modern ammonium nitrate (AN) plant design not only mitigates the environmental impact, but also reduces investment costs and contributes to the key factors mentioned. M. Pieper and P. Kamermann of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions discuss how, by using the right design, safety in ammonium nitrate plants can be easily achieved, while maintaining outstanding product quality.

Reducing the carbon footprint in the synthesis of chemicals is a new global challenge as the world works towards providing sustainable products designed to minimise their environmental impacts throughout their whole lifecycle. This article looks at the role of blue technologies as part of a roadmap towards the decarbonisation of fuels and chemicals.