Fertilizers world consumption

Worldwide, triple superphosphate, over the period 1955 to 1980, maintained about a 15% share of the phosphate fertilizer market (Fig. 8). World consumption for the year ended June 30, 1991 (9) was equivalent to 3.6 x 10 t of P20, which was about 10% of world fertilizer P2O5 consumption. In the United States, consumption for the year ended June 30, 1990 (Fig. 7) was equivalent to about 240 x 10 t of P20, which represented only 6% of U.S. fertilizer P2O5 consumption. 

World consumption of potassium salts presentiy exceeds 28 million t of K O equivalent per year. About 93% of that is for fertilizer use (see POTASSIUM compounds). The potash [17353-70-7] industry is essentially a mining and beneftciation industry. The two main fertilizer materials, KCl and K SO are produced by beneftciating ores at the mine sites. The upgraded salts then are shipped to distributors and manufacturers of mixed goods. 

The economic magnitude of the U.S. fertilizer iadustry is iadicated by the yearly value of products which approaches 3 biUioa. U.S. fertilizer consumption represeats only about 13% of the total world consumption. Thus the aimual value of worldwide consumption is at least 22 biUion. The world investment for production faciHties to produce these quantities of fertilizer is also very high (114). 

Economic Aspects and Uses. Almost all ammonium sulfate is used as a fertilizer for this purpose it is valued both for its nitrogen content and for its readily available sulfur content. In 1986/1987 United States consumption of ammonium sulfate was 0.57 million metric tons (34) world consumption during the same period was estimated at 13.3 million metric tons. In North America ammonium sulfate is largely recovered from caprolactam production. 

The most popular fertilizers contain the three major nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and they are therefore referred to as NPK fertilizers. To illustrate their importance in any economy, in 2000, the world consumption of the total fertilizer nutrient (N + P205 + K20) was 140... 

The businesses of chemicals, coatings and plastics are closely linked, and those sectors, in turn, are closely linked to the oil and gas industry. Plastics comprise a branch of petrochemicals—that is, chemicals refined from petroleum. Total world consumption of oil for industrial uses is about 30 million barrels daily—mostly for use in chemical processes. Coatings, which include paints, are chemical concoctions. Other everyday chemicals products include pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, dyes, fibers, packaging, adhesives and explosives, among... 

Table 2.2-1. Evolution in the World Consumption of Nitrogen Fertilizers in the Period 1980 to 1992 in I0< t/a N.

Use of potassium in fertilizers. The current world consumption of KjO is approximately 20 Tg y" (Table 9.5). The amount of K applied per sq. metre of arable land varies widely among different countries of the world. In 1966, for example, Italy averaged about 1 gK m , while Belgium applied 16 gK m . The Netherlands and West Germany also apply high rates of K, while France, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A. average 6 gm" or lower. However, the U.S.A. uses about 25% of the world s present consumption (Barber et al., 1968). 

World consumption of nitrophosphates increased from 3.46 million tonnes of P2O5 in 1975 to 3.9 million tonnes in 1988 this represents an increase of 13% in 13 years, and nitrophosphates supplied less than 10% of world fertilizer P2O5 in 1988 [18]. 

Under these influences, world consumption of nitrophosphates increased to 4.33 million tonnes of P2O5 in 1990 this represented 10.5% of world fertil-... 

Table 20.2 compares the demand of nutrients as projected by the Group with the statistically reported achieved demand. Substantial differences in projections occurred due to the disruption of the fertilizer use system after the introduction of world prices and the removal of subsidies in Central and Eastern Europe and the FSU. This transformation was not possible to foresee in 1989 when projections were prepared. For the case of stable consumption in Central and Eastern Europe and FSU countries, the absolute error for the world consumption projected in 1989 by the year 1992/93 would be for N h-2.3%, P2O5 -2%, and K2O 6.9%. 

At the start of World War II, the U.S. was producing more than 75% of the world s elemental sulfur. U.S. consumption reached record levels of more than 1.8 million tonnes in 1939. By the end of the war, the U.S. market was almost three million tonnes and U.S. production hit yet another new record in 1945. As the war wound down, there was fear of a collapse as had happened after World War I. In fact, just the opposite took place as demand soared even more, especially being driven by the superphosphate fertilizer maiket. Consumption in the U.S. hit 4.3 million tonnes in 1947 Adding to the growth of elemental sulfur was the decline of the p5uites industry of Europe, especially Spain and Norway. In the late 1940 s, the strong market eontinued with demand outpacing supply, but the 18 per tonne price remained, and the export price went up to a modest 22 per torme. 

During the period 1955 to 1965, world consumption of nitrogen as a fertilizer increased from 8 million tons to 16.3 million tons. From 1965 to 1975, consumption increased to 39 million tons. By 1990 the consumption was 102 million tons. ... 

Capacity, Production, and Consumption. Ammonia production has worldwide significance about 85% of the ammonia produced is used for nitrogen fertilizers. As the primary source of fertilizer nitrogen, it is key to solving world food production requkements. The remaining 15% goes into various industrial products such as fibers, animal feeds, explosives, etc. 

Economic Aspects and Uses. Before World War II most ammonium nitrate was used as an ingredient in high explosives. Subsequently its use as a fertilizer grew rapidly, absorbing about 90% of production in 1975. Consumption of ammonium nitrate for all uses peaked in the United States in 1981 at 8.95 million metric tons in 1986, apparent consumption dropped to only 6.31 million metric tons, of which 75% was used as fertilizer. By 1990, consumption had risen slightly to 6.64 million metric tons total annual U.S. capacity in 1990 was 7.77 million metric tons. World ammonium nitrate capacity in 1985 was about 66 million metric tons, whereas reported consumption was about 44 million metric tons. 

H. Giaet, World Fertiliser Consumption Statistics 1984 85 to 1986187, International Fertilizer Industry Association, Limited, Paris, 1987. 

Plant nutrient sulfur has been growing in importance worldwide as food production trends increase while overall incidental sulfur inputs diminish. Increasing crop production, reduced sulfur dioxide emissions, and shifts in fertilizer sources have led to a global increase of crop nutritional sulfur deficiencies. Despite the vital role of sulfur in crop nutrition, most of the growth in world fertilizer consumption has been in sulfiir-free nitrogen and phosphoms fertilizers (see Fertilizers). 

One such suggestion is to turn fish materials now being used for animal feed and fertilizer into palatable human food, instead. Since fish spoil rapidly, much of the world catch becomes unfit for human consumption, but freezing fish and fish products conserves fish which otherwise would have been wasted and it allows greater distributiai. Ihis technology, however, is relatively expensive for most consumers of the world (8). 

The world s phosphorus consumption is in the order of 40 m.t.p.a. (as P 0 ). About 90% of this involves the fertilizer industry (1). The primary natural source of phosphorus is rock phosphate the major chemical produced from it is phosphoric acid. 

Between 1970 and 1978, U.S. sulfur demand grew from 9.2 to about 12 million long tons per year, equivalent to an average annual rate of increase of about 3.4 percent. Over the forecast period, we anticipate an average annual increase of about this same rate. Our estimate assumes that the U.S. will continue to maintain world leadership as an exporter of upgraded phosphates, and that growth in domestic phosphate fertilizer consumption will average about 3 percent per year. 

Sulfur, one of the most important industrial raw materials, is distributed throughout the world in both elemental and combined forms. Sulfur has been used by mankind since antiquity and its consumption has increased at an annual growth of 4-4.5 percent More than half of the world s sulfur output is in elemental form, nearly all of which is obtained from native sulfur deposits and natural gas. Fertilizer manufacture accounts for approximately 60 percent of all sulfur consumed, followed by chemicals, pig-... 

Figure 15.9 Historical linkages in the expansion of world fertilizer consumption, emission of nitrogen oxides (via fossil fuel combustion), and coastal eutrophication, between 1900 and 2000. (Modified from Boesch, 2002.)...

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