Magazine: Sulphur

Market Intelligence Price Indications Table 1: Recent sulphur prices, major markets

As plants move towards full unit control, Jochen Geiger of Ametek Process Instruments provides an overview of how the latest sulphur plant analysers are providing greater insight into sulphur plant operations.

Arianne Phosphate says that Mark Edinger will be joining the company as an advisor. Edinger is a 15-year veteran of Nutrien Ltd. and its predecessor (Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan) having most recently served as Director of Phosphate Commercial and Product Management Teams, with responsibility for the global marketing of Nutrien’s phosphate product lines.

The merchant market for sulphuric acid is only a small slice of overall global acid demand, dominated by smelter acid producers. Increasing replacement of acid imports by dedicated sulphur burning acid plants by end use consumers is reducing the scope for merchant sales and could lead to overcapacity in the near term.

Alfa Laval reports on a case study of a sulphuric acid plant in Northwest China that is looking to capture its low-grade heat for re-use and to significantly reduce the amount of fossil fuels used in production.

A report on CRU’s annual Sulphur + Sulphuric Acid conference, held in New Orleans, USA, 6-8 November 2023.

Tecnimont, part of MAIRE’s Integrated E&C Solutions business unit, has signed a letter of award with ADNOC for the onshore processing plant of the Hail and Ghasha Development Project. The award was signed at ADIPEC, the world’s largest energy summit. The project aims to operate with net zero CO 2 emissions, in part due to the facility’s CO 2 carbon capture and recovery units, which will allow the capture and storage of CO 2 . The project will capture 1.5 million t/a of CO 2 , taking ADNOC’s committed carbon capture capacity to almost 4 million t/a. The company recently announced its decision to double its carbon capture capacity to 10 million t/a by 2030. The Hail and Ghasha CO 2 will be captured, transported onshore and stored underground, while low-carbon hydrogen will be produced to replace fuel gas and further reduce emissions, according to ADNOC. The project will also use power from nuclear power plants and renewable sources from the grid.

RATE USA discusess some of the many solutions available to revamp sulphur plants to meet stricter environmental regulations with regard to SO2 and CO2 emissions.

A softer trend in DAP prices, linked to lower operating rates in China and declining demand, is contributing to falling sulphur prices.

In spite of changing patterns of demand, deglobalisation and environmental concerns, phosphate mining and acid-based processing are likely to be the mainstay of the industry for years to come.