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Category: Regions

Topsoe technology chosen for Chinese SAF plants

Topsoe has been selected by Zhongneng Yida New Energy Co., Ltd to deliver technology for production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) at a new facility to be located at the city of Shijazhuang in the Shenze Economy Development Zone of Hebei province. Zhongneng Yida plans to export the produced SAF to European and local Chinese markets. Topsoe will provide its HydroFlex® technology and catalysts as part of the agreement. The facility will produce 400,000 t/a of SAF, utilising used cooking oil for the feedstock.

New phosphoric acid plant

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi and New Valley Governor, Mohamed Al-Zamlout were present at the signing of a framework agreement between a consortium of Egyptian public companies to build a new phosphoric acid plant at Abu Tartour in the New Valley region. The project aims to maximise added value and increasing the economic return on Egyptian phosphate ore by using it in higher-yield industries rather than exporting it as a raw material. The Egyptian state-owned consortium includes Abu Qir Fertilizers; East Gas Company, Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority; Misr Phosphate, AT-PHOS, Petroleum Projects and Technical Consultations Company (PETROJET), and Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI), all of which are shareholders in the project. The contractor agreement was signed with a Chinese consortium of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) and East China Engineering Science and Technology Co (ECEC).

Anti-dumping duty on insoluble sulphur

India India has imposed five-year anti-dumping duties on six Chinese imports, including insoluble sulphur, mainly used in the vulcanisation of rubber. The move follows an investigation by India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) last year, following a complaint by Oriental Carbon and Chemicals in March 2024. The period covered by the investigation was from 1st Jan 2023 to 31st Dec 2023, while the injury investigation period ran from April 2020 to 31st Dec 2023. DGTR made a determination that Chinese exporters had been selling the six products at unfairly low prices, adversely affecting the profitability of Indian producers. DGTR says that the duties it has imposed are “aligned with WTO norms” and aim to protect domestic industries from unfair trade practices and address the growing trade imbalance with China. According to the trade authority, the market share of the countries subject to duties “has been significantly increasing” while local Indian industry’s capacities are “lying idle” amid growing demand. n

Sonatrach awards Saipem phosphate project FEED contract

Saipem has won a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract from Sonatrach for an integrated phosphate fertilizer project in Algeria. The contract was awarded through a dual competitive process, enabling the design work to be conducted by both Saipem and a competitor company. Sonatrach will assess and compare the two FEED options from both parties, select the best technical and economic design, and then proceed with the direct award of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to execute the project.

KazZinc to invest in increased SO2 recovery

Kazakhstan Zinc (KazZinc) is progressing with plans to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions from its Ust-Kamenogorsk site following an environmental audit in December 2024 as a result of smogs caused fugitive emissions which forced residents to stay indoors. The site has reduced emissions from 69,000 t/a in 2011 to 15,000 t/a, but plans to invest $210 million in in new technologies, including sulphur dioxide recovery systems and upgraded filters for solid particle capture. The key measure is the modernisation of gas purification units which is expected to reduce SO2 emissions by 2,200 t/a by 2026. Another important initiative is the construction of the “Hydropolimet” workshop at the KazZinc Ridder metallurgical complex, which aims to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by 714 t/a.

OCP certifies low cadmium phosphates

OCP Nutricrops has received a certification that its customised phosphate fertilizers, developed specifically for the European market, meet the EU’s stringent low cadmium content requirements. The certified fertilizers contain less than 20 milligrams of cadmium per kilogram of phosphorus pentoxide (P2 O5 ), far below the European Union’s regulatory ceiling of 60 mg/kg. OCP Nutricrops says that it plans to expand this low-cadmium benchmark across all its fertilizer products worldwide by the end of 2025. Reducing cadmium in agricultural fertilizers is considered a public health priority across Europe. This initiative is closely aligned with EU goals to mitigate food-related health risks and safeguard ecosystems from harmful contaminants.