Demand from horticulture has seen the use of water-soluble phosphates rise globally to almost one million tonnes annually. We assess the market and its growth prospects, identify leading producers and highlight recent product innovations.
The fertilizer market remains a commodity market. The three major nutrients N, P and K, more often than not, are supplied through four main products: urea, diammonium phosphate, monoammonium phosphate (DAP and MAP) and potassium chloride (MOP). Combined world consumption of these long-standing, globally-traded commodities is north of 300 million tonnes annually.
We profile a selection of innovative speciality products and agronomic technologies that have recently been brought to market.
Sulphur is becoming an increasingly important crop nutrient – due to a combination of lower sulphur emissions, the increasing prevalence of high-analysis fertilizers and higher cropping intensity.
Nutrien is the world’s largest crop nutrient company with a market capitalisation of almost $20 billion (Figure 1). This fertilizer industry giant produces and distributes over 25 million tonnes of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products for agricultural, industrial and feed customers globally. The company’s agriculture retail business also serves over 500,000 growers worldwide through a network of international outlets.
R. Kranenburg of Duiker discusses the latest applications of SCO units in refineries and petrochemical complexes. The SCO unit is typically integrated in the sulphur recovery unit and is intended for processing ammonia, while also treating the tail gases from the upstream SRU.
The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has awarded £28 million ($36 million) of government funding to five demonstration projects for low carbon hydrogen production, as part of a larger stimulus package to cut industrial carbon emissions. The projects targeted for funding include:
Alistair Wallace, Head of Fertilizer Research, Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for nitrogen.
The impact of coronavirus on both supply and demand continues to provide considerable uncertainty to the market. With much of Hubei province on lockdown, and a corresponding reduction in ammonia demand for DAP production, Chinese imports appear to be down, pushing more ammonia onto the international market and creating generally bearish sentiment.
At the Nitrogen+Syngas Conference 2020, held in The Hague, Netherlands, Haldor Topsoe launched its new TITAN ™ series of steam reforming catalysts. The company says that the new series, which consists of the RC-67 TITAN and RK-500 TITAN catalysts, offers improved performance and longer catalyst lifetime thanks to the hibonite-rich composition. The addition of titanium promoters adds exceptional mechanical strength while a seven-hole cylindrical shape yields both a very low pressure drop and a high surface area. Pressure drop build-ups in syngas plants can cause unscheduled downtime and cost millions of dollars, while thermal instability during operation can lead to operational risk and reduce plant lifetime. Topsoe says that the catalysts can mitigate these risks, ensuring lower operating costs, increased profit margins, and reduced energy usage.