All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

Clariant, Casale Launch New NH3 Catalyst

Europe, News, News Briefs

Swiss-based Clariant, Prattein, and Casale SA, Lugano, have launched a new ammonia catalyst – AmoMax-Casale, for sustainable CO2 reduction. The new product arose from Clariant’s catalyst experience and Casale’s ammonia converter design. The parties said AmoMax-Casale delivers up to a 30 percent higher efficiency factor, significantly lowering the energy consumption of an ammonia plant and leading to a major reduction in CO2 emissions.

Specifically, they said the catalyst’s higher activity allows operation of the ammonia synthesis loop with considerably less pressure. This means the plant consumes less energy to produce ammonia, and hence generates fewer CO2 emissions.

In addition, higher catalyst activity means higher conversion, so the plant will consume less energy for the recirculation of the process gas in the reactor loop. Again, less CO2is emitted.

The companies  said a typical ammonia plant producing 1600 tons/day would save potentially US$300,000 annually on energy costs and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 85,000 tons over the catalyst’s average lifetime of 15 years. Furthermore, AmoMax-Casale is capable of increasing the ammonia production capacity by up to 5 percent.

The companies said the catalyst has already proven itself at an ammonia plant in the Americas. The plant was upgraded to a Casale 3-bed interchanger using the AmoMax-Casale catalyst in late 2019 and is already reporting energy savings of 40,000 kcal/mt, which translates to an expected annual reduction of $300,000 in costs, and 4,900 tons in CO2emissions.

Monolith, Power District Seek Renewable Energy for Planned $1 B Expansion

News, News Briefs, Western Cornbelt

To facilitate the proposed $1 billion expansion of its Olive Creek 2 facility (GM Oct. 9, 2020), Monolith Materials Inc., Lincoln, Neb., and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) earlier this month signed a letter-of-intent to procure enough renewable energy resources to generate two million megawatt-hours annually. NPPD will secure the generation resources, and power to the facility will be delivered by Norris Public Power District, a wholesale customer of NPPD.

“Renewable electricity is the primary input to our proprietary process,” said Rob Hanson, Monolith CEO and Co-Founder. “While affordability and reliability are key business considerations, the sustainability of our power supply is also a critical factor for Monolith. We use this renewable electricity to sustainably make essential products for the automotive, industrial, and agriculture sectors.”

The OC2 project will produce 275,000 mt/y of anhydrous ammonia, which will be targeted toward local farmers. The facility will also produce 180,000 mt/y of carbon black. When the expansion is complete, Monolith will be Nebraska’s largest consumer of electricity – and the company wants it all to be renewable.

Olive Creek 1 (OC1), a $100 million investment and Monolith’s first production facility, is already putting into practice the company’s focus on sustainability, utilizing renewable energy credits to offset 100 percent of its electricity needs.

NPPD President and CEO Tom Kent said NPPD will solicit bids for the project through a request for proposals (RFP) for new wind or solar generation, including energy storage, through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). It expects to enter into PPA by Sept. 1, 2021, with commercial operations expected to begin no later than Dec. 31, 2025. NPPD plans to issue the RFP in March 2021

Turkish Farmers Seek Government Intervention Over Higher Fertilizer Prices

News, News Briefs, Turkey

The government should “urgently intervene in rising fertilizer prices” to ensure continued agricultural output, according to a recent statement by Semsi Bayraktar, Head of the Turkey Union of Agricultural Chambers, cited by Bloomberg.

He said the government should especially focus on reducing prices of urea used for wheat and barley, as production is already expected to fall due to drought. The group also said fertilizer support to farmers should be increased, citing a 70 percent increase in urea prices since January 2020 and a 63 percent uptick in ammonium nitrate.

Brazil Creates Working Group for National Fertilizer Plan

Brazil, News, News Briefs

Brazil’s federal government published a decree on Jan. 25 that aims to create a working group of Brazilian federal government agencies who will be responsible for the preparation of the National Fertilizer Plan, which aims to increase the production and supply of national fertilizers, in addition to reducing the dependence on imported products and increasing the competitiveness of agribusiness in the international market.

A study by the Institute for the Strengthening of Agriculture in Goiás shows that fertilizers and pesticides make up almost half of soybean production costs, for example.

The group is made up of representatives from the Special Secretariat for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, the Civil House, and the Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Economy, Infrastructure, Mines and Energy, Environment and Science, and Technology and Innovations, in addition to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corp. (Embrapa), Office of Institutional Security and Advocacy-General of the Union. The Executive Secretariat will be in charge of the Special Secretariat for Strategic Affairs.

The meetings will be held in person or via videoconference every 15 days, and the group should last 120 days from the first meeting. The period may be extended for the same period. At the end of the term, the National Fertilizer Plan will be forwarded to the Special Secretary for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic.

Six Dead After Nitrogen Leak at Georgia Poultry Plant

News, News Briefs, Nitrogen, Southeast

Six people died after a liquid nitrogen leak at the Foundation Food Group poultry plant in Gainesville, Ga., on Thursday, Jan. 28, according to Bloomberg. Five people died at the scene and one person died in a hospital emergency room, according to a spokesperson for the Northeast Georgia Health System. Nine others were transported to the hospital, with three in critical condition.

“Preliminary indications are that a nitrogen line ruptured inside the facility,” according to a company spokesperson. “Those lost today include maintenance, supervisory, and management team members.”

Four of the injured were firefighters. Additionally, 130 people were transported by bus to a church for medical evaluation for potential respiratory issues.

The nitrogen leak may be the deadliest in Georgia and possibly the country since at least 2017, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records. Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said his department was investigating the deaths and that the OSHA was on the scene.

Nitrogen asphyxiation has been connected to 53 deaths over the past 20 years, according to an OSHA database.

Foundation Food Group was formed following the merger of Prime-Pak Foods Inc. and Victory Processing Inc., according to a company statement.

Unigel Plans to Start Urea Production at Leased Petrobras Plants in February, Reports Say

Brazil, Featured, News, Urea

Brazil’s Unigel Group is reported to be planning to start urea production in February, and already is selling February tons, sources told Green Markets this week. Unigel, through its wholly-owned Proquigel Química subsidiary, secured full possession of the leases of Petrobras’ nitrogen fertilizer plants in Bahia (Fafen-BA) and Sergipe (Fafen-SE) in early August last year (GM Aug. 14, 2020).

The contract allows Proquigel/Unigel to control the units for a period of ten years, renewable for another ten years.

Unigel Group CEO Roberto Noronha Santos indicated at the time of the completion of leasing process that the reactivation of the two units was expected to occur as of January 2021 (GM Aug. 14, 2020).

The CEO in May had hoped the plants could be restarted before the end of 2020, and said access to natural gas feedstock with Petrobras and other suppliers was being negotiated (GM May 22, 2020).

Fafen-BA has an installed urea production capacity of 1,300 mt/d, with the ability to sell ammonia, carbon dioxide, and automotive liquid reducing agent (Arla 32). The Sergipe unit has an installed urea production capacity of 1,800 mt/d, and can sell ammonia, carbon dioxide, and ammonium sulfate. In addition to the factories, the leasing agreement with Petrobras is understood have including the subleasing of the ammonia and urea marine terminals at the Port of Aratu, in Bahia, to Proquigel/Unigel.

The leading intermediate chemicals company in Latin America, producing styrenics and acrylics, the Unigel Group is also Brazil’s largest national producer of ammonium sulfate (AS). It has one AS plant with production capacity for 400,000 mt/y, according to Green Markets data.

Unigel expects to be the largest producer of ammonia and urea in Brazil in 2021, according to a statement by New York City-based international law firm Simpson Thacher. Total urea capacity is put at approximately 1 million mt/y. The law firm represented a wholly owned financing subsidiary, Unigel Luxembourg SA, of the Unigel Group in connection with the subsidiary’s offering of US$110 million reopening of a bond offering, just completed. Unigel CFO Daniel Zilberknop told Valor Economico that the money will be used to buy inputs, such as natural gas, and to reduce debt.

Lukashenko-Approved Appointee Takes Over at Grodno Azot

Belarus, News, News Briefs, Nitrogen

Belarus has appointed a new Director General at state-owned nitrogen producer Grodno Azot. The appointment of Igor Lyashenko to the post was approved by the country’s President, Alexander Lukashenko, on Jan. 26, according to a report by state news agency BelTA.

Lyashenko since May 2020 had been in charge of the Minsk-based representative office of Gomeltransneft Druzhba, Belarus’ main oil pipeline operator, before which he was Belarus’ Deputy Prime Minister since August 2018, according to the report. In government, he supervised the country’s petrochemical complexes and industry, prior to which he headed up the Belneftekhim chemical concern for several years, of which Grodno Azot is a member company.Lyashenko replaces Igor Bobyr in the new role at Grodno Azot, and the personnel change is clearly an attempt by the Belarus authorities to tighten control of the company.  

Belarus’ President was cited by the BelTA report naming the new Director General as highlighting “the strategic importance” of Grodno Azot and “the importance of discipline” and establishing order at the company, “both technological and organizational.” He also cited the danger to the company if something were to happen. He said “no one can be spared or pitied” for a breach of discipline, according to the report.

There have been reports of concerns about safety at the company as a consequence of, for example, the absence of supervisory staff of key manufacturing processes, allegedly as a consequence of worker strike action. The company in mid-September suffered a shutdown of its Ammonia 3 unit as a result of alleged worker sabotage, and three urea units were also forced to halt operations as a consequence, according to local media reports (GM Sept. 18, 2020).

Striking workers at the company’s key raw material production workshops, Ammonia-3 and Ammonia-4, have been dismissed and replaced by workers from other Grodno Azot production units, and also by students and strike breakers from elsewhere, the latter at higher rates of pay than Grodno Azot employees, according to reports.

In December, the atmosphere at the Belarus producer was reported to be “very tense” as workers “split off,” leaving the official trade union and taking strike action, according to Belarus pro-democracy and pro-human rights news site Belarus Charter’97, citing a company employee (GM Dec. 17, 2020)

U.K. Solid Urea Consultation Closes; Farmers’ Union Offers Viable Alternative to Outright Ban

News, News Briefs, Specialty, United Kingdom, Urea

The U.K. government on Jan. 26 closed its window for responses to its consultation seeking views on how the country’s farmers can reduce ammonia emissions from the use or sale of solid urea.

The consultation, launched on Nov. 3, presented three options, including a total ban on solid urea fertilizers, or a requirement to stabilize them with the addition of a urease inhibitor, a chemical that helps to slow the conversion of urea to ammonium (GM Jan 15, p. 36; Nov. 6, 2020). A third option would be the requirement to restrict the spreading of solid urea fertilizers so that they can only be used from Jan. 15 to March 31.

The preferred option of the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), which is overseeing the consultation, is the complete ban on the use or sale of solid urea fertilizers. The department said this policy option is preferred because it would result in a greater amount of ammonia emissions reduction than the other policy options analysed and put forward.

The U.K. government has committed to reduce the pollutant by 8 percent of 2005 levels by 2020, with a 16 percent reduction by 2030. Defra said the emissions are harmful to natural habitats as well as to human health, with 87 percent coming from agriculture, of which 18 percent is attributed to inorganic fertilizer application.

Options to restrict the use of liquid fertilizer products containing urea, such as urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), were considered during policy development, but were subsequently exempted.

The country’s National Farmers Union (NFU) has urged Defra to adopt an “industry-regulated approach” to solid urea fertilizer rather than a total ban, which it said would have a “huge impact” on farmers’ ability to produce food. The NFU’s response sets out the importance of solid urea when used alongside other products such as ammonium nitrate and why it is used by farmers as part of a balanced and integrated nutrient management plan.

The U.K. imported 816,353 mt of solid urea in 2019, according to the country’s revenue and Customs (HMRC) office. Imports in the first 10 months of last year were 656,008 mt, versus 674,887 mt in the same period in 2019.

The country has no domestic urea production, and demand is entirely currently met by imports from The Netherlands, Germany, and Russia, as well as the Middle East.

A Defra spokesperson told Green Markets that the department is now analyzing the responses and that it will provide an official government response in due course. However, the spokesperson would not be drawn on when a policy decision likely would be announced.

Germany is the only country in Europe that has regulations in place specifically controlling the use of urea fertilizers, according to Defra’s consultation document. The German Fertilisers Act in §6(2), specifies that, “From February 1, 2020, urea can only be applied as a fertilizer if a urease inhibitor is added, or if it is incorporated without delay or within four hours from its application.”

However, Defra noted, it is now understood that the definition of urea (with 44 percent carbamide nitrogen content) has proven to be problematic to enforce, and German farmers have found this definition to be a loophole where they continue to use urea fertilizers with less than 44 percent carbamide nitrogen content. As a result, the policy there is currently under review.

The U.K. government department also highlighted the use of urea fertilizers is very low in Denmark and the Netherlands, with both countries having taken “substantial action” to control ammonia emissions, leading to emissions reductions of 40 percent and 64 percent, respectively. Although specific action to control use of urea fertilizers has not been taken, both Denmark and the Netherlands have imposed controls on the use of nitrogen fertilisers in general by applying plans and limits, said Defra.

Norwegian Phosphate Discovery Could Reduce E.U. Dependency

News, News Briefs, Phosphate, Scandinavia, United Kingdom

Norway has discovered a huge deposit of critical raw materials, including phosphate. Norge Mining, founded in 2018 with the backing of Swiss and German investors after securing five exploration licenses for a phosphate deposit in the Dalane region in sparsely populated southwestern Norway, has since secured six licenses for the development across 420 km2, according to a report by Germany’s DW News.

According to the report, citing Norge Mining, U.K.-based consulting firm SRK calculated that the total ore body contains 70-80 billion mt of phosphate-containing material, which would make it the world’s largest phosphate deposit, ahead of Morocco’s 50 billion mt and China’s 30 billion mt. Norge Mining expects it will take about five years to begin extraction, according to the report.

Besides phosphates, two other important minerals were found: vanadium and titanium. The Norwegian mega deposit has spurred the European Union’s interest, all the more since phosphate, vanadium, and titanium are on the European Commission’s list of critical raw materials, DW reported.

Norge Mining is registered in the U.K., with an office in Egersund, Norway.

Algeria Targets Call for EOIs for Mega Phosphate Project in 2021

Africa, News, News Briefs, Phosphate

The call for expressions of interest (EOIs) for the development of Algeria’s long-planned Bled El Hadba (Tébessa) Integrated Phosphate Project (PPI) for the production of fertilizer in the eastern regions of the North African country will be launched this year, according to a report last weekend by El Watan news, citing Algeria’s Ministry of Mines report for the implementation of the 2020 action plan.

Algeria currently is in the process of looking for a potential technological partner for the project, according to the ministry.

A phosphates development plan worth $6 billion, divided into three phases, was established for a phosphate mining and processing megaproject in eastern Algeria last summer, according to an All Africa Global Media report, citing the country’s Minister of Energy Abdelmadjid Attar (GM Sept. 18, 2020).

That plan comprised three phases of five years each, involving three provinces – Tébessa, Souk Ahras, and Annaba – and the restructuring of the project will allow production to begin at the end of the first phase.

Under the plan, a complex for the processing of ore is to be constructed at Bled El Hadba utilizing phosphate rock produced at the Bled el Hadba phosphate mine, with processing units to be built in Oued Kebrit (Souk Ahras) for the production of sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid, and other units established in Hadjar Essoud (Skikda) for the production of ammonia, nitric acid, and ammonium nitrate, as well as the extension of the port of Annaba for the export of finished products.

Algeria has produced around 1.2 million mt/y of phosphate rock in recent years, with much of this volume directed at the export market.

The phosphates megaproject is one of the Algerian government’s projects aimed at reducing the country’s heavy dependence on hydrocarbons. 

The country is also looking to exploit its zinc-lead deposits – namely the Oued Amizour zinc project, located on the north coast of Algeria, about 10 kilometers southwest of the port city of Béjaïa, as well as iron ore, among other resources. Zinc is increasingly used in specialty fertilizers.

According to the El Watan news report, citing Algeria’s Ministry of Mines report, a joint venture company named Western Mediterranean Zinc Spa (WMZ) was created in February 2006 for the development of the Oued Amizour zinc-lead deposit, between two Algerian state-owned companies (ENOF mining company with a 32.5 percent stake and ORGM with a 2.5 percent interest) and Australian base and precious metal production company Terramin Australia Ltd., holding the 65 percent majority shareholding. However, it is unclear what progress on the project has been made, if any, since that time.

Algeria’s government, however, is ambitiously touting 2021 as the year to drive forward the diversification of the country’s economy, including “the large exploitation” of the country’s mining resources, according to the Algerie Presse Service.

Recent years, however, have seen multiple announcements by the Algerian government regarding the establishment of downstream mineral resource processing facilities in the country, which have yet to come to fruition.