Tag: Fertilizer

Late February saw the diplomatic crisis between Russia and Ukraine abruptly devolve into all-out war, on a scale not seen in Europe since the collapse of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s – some would argue not since the end of the Second World War. At time of writing, the conflict is still barely two weeks old, but has already produced an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, and a refugee crisis of massive proportions. But over the medium and longer term, together with the international sanctions that have swiftly followed, it also has the power to deliver an economic shock to commodities markets in particular and the world economy in general that may be as bad if not worse than the crash of 2008-9.

This case study refers to the carbamate condensers and separators in the urea recirculation and hydrolyser desorber section of a urea plant, operating under normal operation at 0.3 MPa and 75°C. After 48,000 hours of operation, during the turnaround of the urea plant, the diaphragm type instruments were sent to the original equipment manufacturer for inspection and refurbishment. In addition to damage of the diaphragm, crevice corrosion was found in the gasket area (see picture) posing a health and safety risk .

Dr M.P. Sukumaran Nair, formerly Secretary to Chief Minister, Kerala and Chairman, Public Sector Restructuring & Audit Board, Government of Kerala looks at the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on supply of fertilizer to India and the world.

High feedstock prices and regulatory burdens continue to put pressure on European nitrogen producers to innovate.

Haldor Topsoe has appointed Elena Scaltritti as the company’s new chief commercial officer. She will take up her new position no later than July 1st, 2022. She has previously been executive vice president at Korea’s SONGWON Industrial Group, where she was responsible for the group’s commercial activities.

The COP-26 summit in Glasgow last year signed into force new rules on carbon emissions trading which may gradually start to see carbon pricing spread worldwide, with knock-on effects on emissions intensive industries like ammonia and methanol.

Argus Media’s Alistair Wallace assesses how exposed fertilizer and fertilizer raw material markets are to the conflict in Ukraine.

Debora Simoes, Bruno Fardim , and Cleber Vieira of Agroconsult report on what’s driving the Brazilian fertilizer market currently and look at prospects for the coming year.

The inclusion of several high-profile Russian business leaders on an EU sanctions list in March has led to round of high-level resignations from leading Russian fertilizer producers.

Argus in collaboration with CRU will convene the 2022 Fertilizer Latino Americano conference in Miami, Florida, 21-23 March.