Sounding the price klaxon
The war in Ukraine has caused 9,000 civilian deaths and created 5.7 million refugees. If this immense and spiralling human tragedy was not enough, the unprecedented shock inflicted on commodity markets continues to unfold.
The war in Ukraine has caused 9,000 civilian deaths and created 5.7 million refugees. If this immense and spiralling human tragedy was not enough, the unprecedented shock inflicted on commodity markets continues to unfold.
The recently-published IEA Ammonia Technology Roadmap sets out a future pathway for decarbonising the nitrogen industry. New technology options for low-carbon ammonia production are emerging and project activity is on the rise.
By using modular construction, operational modelling and digital plant control, thyssenkrupp Uhde can offer customers fast-build, capital efficient green ammonia plants. Dr Christian Renk and Dr Klaus Nölker explain the company’s innovative approach to plant construction, design and control.
More than 300 delegates from over 130 companies and 29 countries gathered for CRU’s Phosphates 2022 conference, 7-9 March.
More than 745 delegates from 335 companies and 50 countries gathered at the Hilton Downtown, Miami, Florida, 21-23 March, for the Fertilizer Latino Americano 2022 conference. The event was jointly convened by Argus and CRU.
Liquid fertilizers are emerging as a high growth, multibillion dollar market. Their growing use is linked to trends such as no-till farming and the greater adoption of precision agriculture. Leading producers and products are highlighted.
Heat recovery systems at sulphuric acid plants have been providing carbon-free energy for decades now and continue to improve. There is also potential to combine the clean power generated at acid plants with hydrogen production from water electrolysis. This could provide the basis for green fertilizer production.
Economically viable production of green ammonia requires plants that can react to fluctuations in renewable power thanks to their flexible design. Casale’s Francesco Baratto, Giovanni Genova and Sergio Panza explain how new tools are helping design green ammonia plants that deliver the highest possible production at the lowest possible cost.
Nitrogen+Syngas’s annual listing of new ammonia, urea, nitric acid and ammonium nitrate plants.
On February 27th, in a speech to the Bundestag, Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz described the events then unfolding as a “zeitenwende” – a historical turning point. He was speaking of German foreign and security policy, but it seems likely that Russia’s February 24th invasion of Ukraine may end up marking a break with the past in many different ways. Last issue’s Editorial was written when Russia’s ‘special military operation’ was still only a few days old, and the situation was still very fluid. Two months on, and for all of the uncertainties remaining, some glimpses of the way that things are changing are becoming clearer.