Modernising urea plants
Revamping existing urea plants can deliver significant improvements – including higher capacity, lower costs and reduced emissions.
Revamping existing urea plants can deliver significant improvements – including higher capacity, lower costs and reduced emissions.
Two fertilizer plants, formerly part of the Interagro Group, are being offered for sale by the liquidator, Sierra Quadrant. The factories, Ga-Pro-Co in Săvinești and Donau Chem at Turnu Măgurele, are available for direct negotiation starting at €17.8 million plus VAT and €18 million plus VAT, according to the liquidator, with a public auction to be held in September. Assets available include plants for the production of ammonia, urea, nitric acid, ammonium nitrate and liquid fertilisers, as well as transportation infrastructure for both road and rail.
Egypt is looking towards hugely increased LNG imports to try and reduce domestic shortages. A second floating regasification and storage unit arrived in May and two more are expected to be in place soon. Reuters reports that the country has reached agreements with energy firms and trading houses to buy 150 to 160 cargoes of […]
Casale has signed two contracts with Xin Lian Xin Chemicals Group Co.,Ltd for the implementation of ammonia and urea technologies in the company’s new urea complex in Henan province. Capacities for the two plants will be 2,700 t/d of ammonia and 3,500 t/d of urea. Casale says that the complex will be its first grassroots […]
Abu Dhabi-based nitrogen producer and distributor Fertiglobe says that it is acquiring the distribution assets of Wengfu Australia Pty Ltd. through an asset sale and purchase agreement, expanding its downstream reach and enhancing access to supplying Australian customers. Fertiglobe currently supplies around 600,000 t/a of urea to Australia, with the potential to grow supply volumes […]
Reverse rotation of an inline four-stage centrifugal CO2 compressor is an unwanted phenomenon which sometimes occurs in urea plants. Reverse rotation can lead to damage to the internals of the CO2 compressor and an expected outage. This discussion shares experiences and provides suggestion on how to avoid reverse rotation of the CO2 compressor.
UreaKnowHow.com reviews the main production options for incorporating sulphur into urea, the world's most widely applied commodity fertilizer.
Ammonia benchmarks on both sides of the Suez were little changed in mid-June with a seemingly balanced supply-demand outlook, although those of a more bullish persuasion continue to support the notion that prices will soon – if they have not done so already – reach a floor. In Algeria, while activity was limited, producer Sorfert was believed to be seeking prices of $410415/t f.o.b. for July delivery, up $10-15/t and equivalent to >$450/t c.fr NW Europe. Imminent tariffs on imports of Russian fertilizers into the EU may trigger an uptick in downstream capacity utilisation across the continent.
• The short term outlook appears balanced for the most part, although more bullish participants seem to be holding sway over market sentiment.
Ju ne saw fertilizer markets – urea markets in particular – thrown into chaos by the widening of hostilities in the Middle East. Israel’s and then the United States’ strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and the retaliatory attacks on Israel and Qatar for a while held out the potential for the conflict to widen, perhaps even leading to attempts to close the straits of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf, something not seen since the ‘tanker war’ of the 1980s when Iraq tried to cripple Iran’s oil exports during the eight year Iran-Iraq War.