
Price Trends
Meena Chauhan , Head of Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid Research, Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for sulphur.
Meena Chauhan , Head of Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid Research, Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for sulphur.
Sulphur demand losses for production of phosphoric acid are forecast at 2.2 million t/a in 2020. Factoring in demand gains in markets such as Morocco, the sector is expected to see a drop of 800,000 t/a in 2020. Recovery is forecast from 2021 with a 2 million t/a increase forecast.
Kreber’s R&D department has been researching the prilling of sulphur in pursuit of the ideal process. In this article, T. Nieboer of Kreber recounts the history of prilling up to today, tracing the developments and highlighting the challenges that still remain.
With increasing frequency, companies that have molten sulphur on site must put environmental controls on the vent streams from molten sulphur pits, storage tanks and loading operations. This article* describes the typical characteristics of molten sulphur vent gas streams as well as some of the important chemistry related to these systems in caustic scrubbers. Solids deposition issues observed in the field with caustic scrubbers operating on actual molten sulphur vent gas streams are presented. Design and operational strategies to mitigate plugging in molten sulphur vent gas scrubbers are also summarised in this article by D. J. Sachde, K. E. McIntush, D. L. Mamrosh , and C. M. Beitler of Trimeric Corporation.
Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media
The widespread problem of soil micronutrient deficiency has come under the spotlight in recent years. We look at the range of specialist fertilizer products able to tackle micronutrient deficits in crops and soils.
We profile a selection of innovative speciality products and agronomic technologies that have recently been brought to market.
As the industrial value chain for fertilizers and their raw materials manages its way through the unprecedented global Covid-19 pandemic, Metso Outotec’s Hannes Storch, Collin Bartlett & Marcus Runkel reflect on the range of digital tools installed by the company at its industrial reference plants globally.
The phosphates market to date has remained remarkably resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite early fears, 2020 has seen strong overall demand so far and no major supply-side disruptions. But concerns still lie ahead, as Alberto Persona , principal phosphate analyst at Fertecon/IHS Markit, explains.
Sulphur is becoming an increasingly important crop nutrient – due to a combination of lower sulphur emissions, the increasing prevalence of high-analysis fertilizers and higher cropping intensity.