Tag: IFA

At the Nitrogen+Syngas Conference 2020, held in The Hague, Netherlands, Haldor Topsoe launched its new TITAN ™ series of steam reforming catalysts. The company says that the new series, which consists of the RC-67 TITAN and RK-500 TITAN catalysts, offers improved performance and longer catalyst lifetime thanks to the hibonite-rich composition. The addition of titanium promoters adds exceptional mechanical strength while a seven-hole cylindrical shape yields both a very low pressure drop and a high surface area. Pressure drop build-ups in syngas plants can cause unscheduled downtime and cost millions of dollars, while thermal instability during operation can lead to operational risk and reduce plant lifetime. Topsoe says that the catalysts can mitigate these risks, ensuring lower operating costs, increased profit margins, and reduced energy usage.

We look at safety, health and environmental (SHE) management and hazards at nitrogen fertilizer plants and the importance of the International Fertilizer Association’s ‘Protect & Sustain’ certification scheme.

The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) is helping to fully develop the career potential of younger employees through its Young Professionals initiative. This is providing a new generation of industry professionals with access to mentoring and career development advice. It also gives individuals a chance to network with their peers, as well as subsidising attendance and participation at international conferences.

The grave economic and human health consequences of the global spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) deepened in March.

Charlotte Hebebrand, director general of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA), is to step down at the beginning of May, after more than seven years in the role.

With more than 15 million hectares of land watered by drip irrigation globally, the technology’s agricultural potential remains enormous. Fertigation – the ability to manage and regulate both water and plant nutrients – is a key advantage helping drive worldwide growth.

The Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) has announced the election of Angela Booth as its new Vice Chairman. AIC says that Angela brings many years of broad experience in the industry, including several years as Chair of the AIC Feed Executive Committee, a member of the AIC Board, and several roles on industry executives and committees. She was previously the AB Agri Director of Feed Safety. In her career, Angela has had widespread involvement, including feed safety, operations, quality, nutrition, purchasing, legislation and sustainability.

After a poor 2019, when global demand contracted by nearly 2.5%, phosphate markets are expected to rebound in 2020. Saudi Arabia and Morocco dominate new capacity additions while India and Brazil continue to be the key importers. US and Chinese production is in slow decline, meanwhile.

At the time of writing this editorial, the World Economic Forum was having its usual annual meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos. Prior to this year’s meeting, as usual the WEF had produced its annual Global Risks Report to serve as a talking point for the meeting. While some of the risks were as usual political and economic, from proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the “retreat from multilateralism” to growing inequalities of wealth in the developed world and “domestic political polarisation”, for the first time in the organisation’s history, the top five global risks in the report ranked by likeliness – which looks at potential global pitfalls over the next 10 years – were environmental. Perhaps with the pictures of Australia’s bush fire season fresh in their minds, the 750 experts ranked extreme weather events as the most likely, but climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainability in agriculture all ranked highly.

Brazil is the main centre for new nitrogen demand in Latin America, but in spite of major oil and gas discoveries in the 2000s, has failed to develop a downstream nitrogen fertilizer industry.