Ammonia prices have now dropped by about 50% from their highs a year ago. Gas prices have fallen, particularly in Europe, and peak fertilizer application season is over in Europe and North America, leading to slackening demand., leading to slackening demand.
Prior to the covid pandemic, sub-Saharan Africa had been the fastest growing market for new fertilizer demand. However, the combination of pandemic related disruption, followed by the dislocations caused by the war in Ukraine, have pushed up prices and led to falling demand across the continent.
With the growing global demand for food and the rise in ecological challenges, there’s a pressing need for a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly approach to fertilizer production. Achieving a sustainable increase in plant load and operational margins through improved operations is a demanding task. Luc Dieltjens and Ali El Sibai of Stamicarbon discuss how a plant can effectively address these challenges with digital tools to optimise the process.
Ballestra, Nitricity, Solex Thermal Science and Stamicarbon showcase their state-ofthe-art equipment and technologies.
Ammonia production at Billingham in Teesside looks set to end, bringing to a close a history of production that dates back almost a century.
The use of low-chloride fertilizers is a proven strategy for managing chloride sensitivity in crops and avoiding excess chloride in soils. ICL offers a wide range of crop nutrient products for this purpose. Patricia Imas, agronomist at the company, outlines the main options.
Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media. Urea: While prices mostly fell in mid-August, the main development was the massive purchase of Chinese urea by Indian Potash Limited. IPL confirmed that, out of a total tender settlement of 1.759 million tonnes, one million tonnes will be met by Chinese exporters. This far exceeded expectations and added to the already bearish sentiment of most market players.
Intermodal Solutions Group (ISG) is introducing a container-based storage, transport and ship loading system for bulk fertilizers. The company’s innovative Pit to Ship Solutions ™ system could transform fertilizer logistics and help the sector meet its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) goals.
A new book by leading industry expert Kish Shah looks at all aspects of ammonium nitrate production.
Avoiding chloride contamination is critical in urea plants, not only from the process and utility side but also from the atmospheric side. The applied stainless steels in urea plants are susceptible to detrimental failure modes when chlorides and moisture are present. This UreaKnowHow.com Round Table discussion provides several examples of failures and important prevention measures relating to chloride stress corrosion cracking risks in urea plants.