Category: Sustainability/Environment

Ronald Clemens , ICL’s Marketing & Portfolio Manager CRF, talks to Fertilizer International about the role of controlled-release fertilizers in sustainable agriculture.

The last year has seen the first shipments of low-carbon ‘green’ fertilizers from companies such as Yara, Fertiberia, OCI and Sabic Agri-Nutrients. Partnerships with food manufacturers and retailers are helping to grow this emerging market and drive demand.

Fertiberia’s Puertollano green hydrogen plant was officially inaugurated by Spain’s King Felipe VI in May 2023. The 20MW capacity unit will produce up to 3,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually.

With green ammonia from renewable energy facing cost hurdles to adoption, thoughts have turned to using nuclear energy as a carbon free alternative.

Based on 16 years of experience, Muhammad Nabeel Shakir of Fatima Fertilizer Company outlines a methodology to achieve optimum performance of the PGM catalyst and catchment system in nitric acid plants.

Stefano Cicchinelli and Carmen Perez of Stamicarbon (MAIRE) explore the latest advancements in tertiary abatement technologies, their implementation in nitric acid plants, and the implications for the fertilizer industry.

Green ammonia production facilities can be situated in remote areas with access to often fully off-grid renewable power supply. This article examines plant concepts and discusses the challenges and solutions for these plant architectures. Through a case study, an efficient and innovative methodology to compare options and optimise the sizing of the plant is presented. The methodology addresses the intermittency of the power production, the flexibility limits of the main process units, and the costs of investment and operation, using proprietary techno-economic dynamic simulation software, Odyssey.

Shell Deutschland has taken a final investment decision (FID) to progress REFHYNE II, a 100 MW renewable proton-exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen electrolyser at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland in Germany. Using renewable electricity, REFHYNE II is expected to produce up to 44 t/d of renewable hydrogen to partially decarbonise site operations. The electrolyser is scheduled to begin operating in 2027. Renewable hydrogen from REFHYNE II will be used at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park to produce energy products such as transport fuels with a lower carbon intensity. Using renewable hydrogen at Shell Rheinland will help to further reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions at the facility. In the longer term, renewable hydrogen from REFHYNE II could be directly supplied to help lower industrial emissions in the region as customer demand evolves.

Join us at the CRU Sulphur + Sulphuric Acid 2024 Conference and Exhibition in Barcelona, 4-6 November, for a global gathering of the sulphur and sulphuric acid community. Meet leading market and technology experts and producers, network, share knowledge, and learn about market trends and the latest developments in operations, process technology and equipment.

Refinery sour water strippers are an often overlooked resource of low GWP ammonia. Martin A. Taylor and Charles L. Kimtantas of Bechtel Energy Technologies and Solutions, Inc. (BETS) show the results of a study on reusing an existing SWS as one of the major systems in a SWSPlus unit for the recovery of ammonia for sale. Relative cost factors will compare a complete SWSPlus unit versus reusing an existing SWS.