Tag: Demand

With phosphate supply concerns persisting as 2023 draws to a close, CRU’s Senior Analyst Logan Collins looks back at what’s been a dynamic year for the global phosphate market.

New regulatory developments in Europe are focusing attention on eliminating microplastic residues in soils by adopting biodegradable fertilizer coatings. Major technology licensors and engineering companies are also developing new coating technologies for controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs).

More than 700 delegates from 300 companies and 55 countries gathered at the EPIC SANA Lisboa Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal, 17-19 October 2023, for the Argus Fertilizer Europe 2023 conference.

Brazil is a powerhouse agricultural economy, ranking as a top three global exporter of soybeans, corn and sugar. It is also the world’s number one producer and exporter of oranges and orange juice – as highlighted in our current issue (p18).

Low demand, high gas prices and cheaper Russian imports of urea and ammonia are keeping a lid on European fertiliser production, prompting fears of permanent plant closures. ICIS’s Deepika Thapliyal, Sylvia Tranganida, and Aura Sabadus examine the challenges faced by the sector and the potential long-term impacts on the European fertilizer industry.

Fertilizer International presents a global round-up of current potash projects.

Merchant markets for ammonia have faced considerable disruption in recent years due to the covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical has started up a CO2 -to-methanol plant at the Shenghong Petrochemical Industrial Park. The plant was developed in conjunction with Iceland’s Carbon Recycling International (CRI), with the plant brought to life in under two years from the initial contract signing. The methanol plant uses CRI’s proprietary emissions-to-liquids (ETL) technology, transforming waste carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases into sustainable, commercial-grade methanol. According to CRI, uses 150,000 t/a of carbon dioxide sourced from waste streams at the large petrochemical complex as feedstock, significantly reducing emissions that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere. The plant has the capacity to produce 100,000 t/a of sustainable methanol, used primarily to supply Jiangsu’s methanol to olefins facility to produce chemical derivatives, including sustainable plastics and EVA coatings for solar panels. This is expected to reduce the reliance on fossil-based methanol to drive more sustainable value chains and carbon footprint reduction initiatives across various sectors, such as industrial manufacturing and renewable energy.

One of the things that produced a lot of worried news headlines over the past couple of years is whether the energy transition is likely to lead to a shortage of sulphur as we switch away from fossil fuels on a large scale. As we’ve discussed in this magazine, those fears are overblown, certainly in the medium term future. Peter Harrison of CRU tackled the issue in his sulphur markets presentation at the recent Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid conference in New Orleans, and while he did admit to some reduction in sulphur supply from oil in the 2030s and increasing into the 2040s, increased sulphur recovered from sour gas is likely to more than make up for that at least until the 2040s. But one of the things that did strike me about his presentation is the extent to which the energy transition is indeed already changing the way that the sulphur market works, and will increasingly do so over the next few years.

Low carbon production is attracting considerable attention to using syngas derivatives as fuels, but there are considerable logistical and commercial barriers to overcome.