Category: Outlook & Reviews

Sophisticated control of phosphates production is now possible thanks to the availability of real-time process analysers. We assess the range of technologies currently on the market and their key advantages.

Compass Minerals manufactures potassium sulphate (SOP) products from two locations in North America.

We talk to Nicolas White , Portfolio & Knowledge Director at Tessenderlo Kerley International, about the company’s new agronomic book on SOP – Sulfate of Potash: More than 100 years of experience. At almost 350 pages, the book is unique in its depth and breadth of coverage.

Belgium-headquartered Tessenderlo Kerley International, a business unit of Tessenderlo Group, has entered into a new partnership with Kemira of Finland. The two companies have signed a long-term off-take agreement for the marketing and distribution of premium SOP (sulphate of potash) fertilizers.

The risk of a second Covid-19 wave over the winter period continues to fuel the trend of forward trading of sulphur cargoes. Downward pressure in some sectors for demand is likely as the macro economic forecast remains challenging.

Meena Chauhan, Head of Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid Research, Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for sulphur.

In a few short years Abu Dhabi has grown to become the world’s largest sulphur producer and exporter, and new sour gas projects will lead to additional sulphur recovery capacity, provided they can overcome economic challenges.

Reg Adams of pigments and titanium dioxide consultancy Artikol reviews the demand for sulphuric acid in the manufacture of TiO2 , and the prospects for consumption over the next few years.

Do you remember Peak Oil? This was the theory, driven by research originally conducted by petroleum geologist M.K. Hubbert in the 1950s, that oil production inevitably followed a bell curve, with supply eventually peaking as easier reserves were exhausted, leading to an inflexion point in production and a long tailing off. Originally Hubbert was talking solely about US oil production, and he seemed to have been borne out by the evidence. But a lack of discoveries of new large fields in the 1990s led to a revision of the theory that predicted a global production peak in 2005-6, potentially leading to rapidly rising oil prices until demand destruction occurred.

Fluor’s case study of recently constructed ultra-sour gas treating facilities provides new information about the operation of DGA-based AGRUs. B. Lynch and C. Graham of Fluor Corporation discuss how using this knowledge and leveraging the recent improvements to process simulators in the gas sweetening space, Fluor has developed an efficient, flexible, and cost effective solution in the two-stage absorption process to maximise mercaptan removal from ultra-sour gases with minimal equipment.