Magazine: Fertilizer International

Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media

A consortium of Chinese buyers has agreed the first potash contract with the Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) since September 2018.

Evaporation and crystallisation are widely used throughout the fertilizer industry. Major applications and the types of equipment used are reviewed by Laurent Palierne and Norbert Strieder of GEA Group.

Digitalisation and the analysis of big data are playing an increasing role in fertilizer production. Innovative digital and cloud-based services are being offered by a range of technology companies, including Casale, tkIS, Topsoe and TOYO.

CRU’s Laura Cross guides us through the current Covid-19 crisis and flags up the unique risks faced by the fertilizer industry as the pandemic unfolds.

We highlight recent innovations in sulphuric acid plant design and construction. NORAM and CPPE are offering a new hybrid sulphuric acid process. KVT, meanwhile, has upgraded its wet sulphuric acid technology to reduce capex, opex and emissions. Improved methods of construction and new materials from Koch Knight are also helping to optimise acid tower design

Ben Pratt joined Mosaic’s senior leadership team at the start of April, having been appointed senior vice president (SVP) for government and public affairs. He was previously the company’s vice president for corporate public affairs, with responsibility for corporate communications, social responsibility and US federal government relations.

Nutrien has temporarily shut down one of the four ammonia plants at its Trinidad production site.

Nutrien is the world’s largest crop nutrient company with a market capitalisation of almost $20 billion (Figure 1). This fertilizer industry giant produces and distributes over 25 million tonnes of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products for agricultural, industrial and feed customers globally. The company’s agriculture retail business also serves over 500,000 growers worldwide through a network of international outlets.

Three large-scale phosphoric acid plants constructed as part of the world-class Umm Wu’al project in Saudi Arabia are now fully operational. James Byrd of Worley (formerly Jacobs ECR) describes the execution of the project from basic engineering through to plant performance tests.