Category: Asia

Rapidly increasing lithium production is projected to require several million t/a of sulphuric acid in the next few years, with China, the USA and Australia the main consumers.

Building on the success of its previous conferences, SulGas Mumbai 2025 brought together 154 sulphur and gas treating stakeholders, representing 68 companies for its 7th technical forum in the Indian subcontinent. We report on some of the key topics on the agenda.

AM Green has selected Casale as its technology partner for India’s largest under-development green ammonia complex in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

Hulunbeier New Gold Chemical Co has selected Stamicarbon to revamp a urea plant in Hulunbuir, northeastern Inner Mongolia.

Although China remains the world’s largest phosphate producer, it has been overtaken as the largest exporter by Morocco in recent years as domestic producers face continuing restrictions on exports.

The Caspian Sea region is home to extensive sour gas reserves which produce large volumes of sulphur. Exports are difficult, but the Kazakh uranium industry is consuming an increasing amount.

Continuing growth in Chinese ammonium sulphate production is leading to a continuing flood of exports, as greater awareness of the utility of sulphur as a fertilizer leads to increasing global demand.

India’s phosphate production is using increasing volumes of sulphuric acid, but new domestic smelter and sulphur burning acid capacity may mean reduced imports in future.

NextChem has been awarded two contracts to upgrade and expand the capacity of the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery (HAOR) industrial complex in Baku by state oil company SOCAR. As part of the contract, NextChem will conduct a technological assessment and deliver a process design package to upgrade the existing sulphur recovery unit (SRU) with oxygen enriched air, a cost-effective and flexible solution for expanding its current sulphur production capacity. Additionally, NextChem will provide the licensing and the process design package based on its proprietary NX SulphuRec TM technology for a new SRU. NX SulphuRec TM is a portfolio of proprietary sulphur recovery technologies, based on the integration of modified Claus and tail gas treatment processes, aimed at reducing the environmental impact of acid and sour gases produced during the refining process.

Short term supply constraints are dominating acid markets at present, but increasing smelter production across Asia may lead to oversupply in the longer term.