Category: Outlook & Reviews

Sulphur’s annual survey of recent, current and future sulphur recovery unit construction projects maps the developing shape of brimstone production from fuel and gas processing plants worldwide.

What are the limits for future single stream sulphuric acid plant capacities? H. Storch, C. Bartlett, and S. Mohsler of Outotec discuss design considerations for large capacity sulphuric acid plants with reference to the world’s largest acid plants built to date.

The impact of coronavirus on both supply and demand continues to provide considerable uncertainty to the market. Industrial demand seems to have been worst affected, and fertilizer related demand has largely kept up, although shutdowns in India’s ammonium phosphate sector have also affected demand. Spring is traditionally the strongest time for fertilizer demand, and this has helped support prices at least in the short term.

Southeast Asia has been a major site for new syngas projects in recent years as countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei continue to monetise their natural gas resources.

Olefins production from methanol, particularly in China, has come to dominate the methanol market over the past few years. However, environmental and market concerns complicate the outlook there.

A Stamicarbon urea plant attempts to start up after a scheduled turnaround. Due to maintenance issues, it is necessary to shut down and block in the synthesis section several times. Although licensor’s procedures have been followed, several signs of active corrosion are noticed in the liner of the reactor. What could the cause be for this unexpected behaviour? Can sharing experiences from colleagues from other urea plants provide valuable support to find the root cause or even provide new insights into possible new causes? One observation is that the typical heating up rate of a liner in a reactor is much higher than recommended (refer to diagram). The condensation heat of steam heats up the liner much faster than the carbon steel pressure bearing wall. This creates stress on the liner and affects the lifetime of the liner. Another observation is a temperature rise in the reactor during a blocking in situation. This can be a cause for loss of oxygen required for passivation, resulting in higher corrosion rates.

The devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to be felt around the world. At time of writing, nearly 4 million cases have been recorded, and at least a quarter of a million people have died, with the suspicion of many more, either from accidental or deliberate undercounting. Figures for excess deaths above a normal seasonal baseline show that places such as Turkey, Ecuador and Indonesia have probably been far worse affected than the official statistics show. There are nevertheless finally hopeful signs that Europe, so far the worst affected region, is beginning to follow the pattern of East Asia and Oceania and that cases are falling. The infection also seems to have peaked in North America, though in the US there is a long tail of infections. Elsewhere, cases are still rising in countries such as Brazil and Mexico.

Alistair Wallace, Head of Fertilizer Research, Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for nitrogen.

The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic has abruptly ended lives and livelihoods during its pernicious and inexorable spread across the globe. The fertilizer industry has not been immune to its parlous effects.

Fertilizer International reached its 50th anniversary in 2019. The magazine’s continuing success is built on mutually beneficial partnerships forged over five decades. This year, we will continue to show our appreciation by profiling a much-valued commercial supporter in the magazine. This issue it’s the turn of the Lewis ® brand from Weir Minerals.