Fertilizers world production

Sulfuric acid is an important raw material for phosphate fertilizer production and to a much lesser extent for nitrogen and potassium fertilizers. World production of sulfuric acid was about 158 million tonnes of H2SO4 in 1991 [11, from which 58% was used in fertilizer production. 

Phosphorus compounds are very important as fertilizers (world use 1976/77 27-3 megatonnes as P2O5) but are widely used in matches, pesticides, special glasses and china ware, alloys (sleels. phosphor bronze), and metal treating (10%), detergents (40%), electrical components (e.g. GaP), foods and drinks (15%). Phosphates are an essential constituent of living organisms. U.S. production of phosphorus 1982 372 000 tonnes. 

Iron. World reserves are placed at 236 x 10 t of ore containing 90 x 10 t of iron world resources are estimated at 180 x 10 t of iron. Only a small fraction of world production is required for fertilizer use. 

Economic Aspects and Uses. Total world production of potassium products is 29,000,000 tons per year (65). Potassium chloride is removed from brine at Moab, and Wendover, Utah, and at Seades Lake, California. Potassium sulfate is made from Great Salt Lake brine by Great Salt Lake Minerals Corp., which is the largest producer of solar potassium sulfate in the wodd. Combined, these U.S. faciUties stiU produce a relatively small percentage of potash fertilizers in the wodd. Production from the Dead Sea, for example, is 10 times greater than production of potassium from brines in the United States. More than 95% of all the potassium produced is used in fertilizer blends. The remainder is converted to other potassium chemicals for industdal use (see Potassium compounds). 

Economic Aspects. A peakia calcium cyanamide production was probably reached ia 1962 when the world production for fertilizer use was of the order of 1,000,000 metric tons of calcium cyanamide per year, and for iadustrial use approximately 300,000 t (excluding the then USSR). In 1990, the total production of cyanamide products was about half that of 1962. The largest producers are ia Japan, Germany, and Canada. 

Urea is used to make urea-formaldehyde plastics and resins and, increasingly, as a nitrogenous fertilizer (46.7% N). World production of urea was 23 million tonnes in 1984. 

Most of the world production of phosphates goes into fertilizer, but some is used as detergent builders (Section 7.7). In toothpastes, calcium pyrophosphate has proved effective as a mild abrasive in eliminating tartar, while Na2[FP03], made by reaction of NaF with cyclic sodium metaphosphates (NaP03), is widely used as a fluoridating agent to suppress dental caries (Section 12.3). A minor amount of rock phosphate is used to make elemental phosphorus by reduction with coke in the presence of silica in the electric furnace (see Section 17.7) ... 

Sulfur is used in a wide variety of industrial processes, however, its single most important use is as sulfuric acid in the production of phosphatic fertilizers. World demand for sulfur (in all forms) has traditionally grown at a fairly steady pace while world supply has been subjected to various sudden surges and shortfalls. The resulting interplay of supply/demand forces has led to an interesting price history for this commodity both worldwide and in North America. 

Table 3.2. 1997/98 World Production ofNitrogen Fertilizer - by Country36...

Diammonium Phosphate (DAP). Ammonium phosphates did not come on the fertilizer scene in significant quantities until the early 1960s however, they have rapidly become the leading form of phosphate fertilizer in the world. Almost all new phosphate fertilizer complexes built in recent years, and those planned, are for the production of ammonium phosphate as the major product. In 1960, world production of ammonium phosphates was equivalent to only 0.5 million mt of P205. By 1990 it was up to 15.4 million mt and by 1999 it has reached 16.7 million mt. Ammonium phosphates now provide two-thirds of total world phosphate fertilization. 

Fig. 24.15. Estimated world production of fertilizers by product type. 1. Steam/water, chemical (including ammonium phosphate), and compacted granular products. 2. Single- and multiple-nutrient fluids, including anhydrous ammonia. 3. As reported by IFA, nutrient production (2002/03 reporting year) amounted to 152.2 million mt (N + P2Os + K20). Product mt were calculated by multiplying 2.35 times the nutrient mt.

Mention was made earlier of the significant quantity of nitrogen applied to farmlands in the form of urea-ammonium nitrate solution and aqua ammonia. Since the late 1950s, there has also been a growing practice of applying mixed fertilizers (NP and NPK) in fluid form. In fact, the growth of the fluids market paralleled bulk-blended products. In 2002/03 about 25 million mt of fluids was produced and corresponded to 7 percent of the world production. North America, and Europe are major markets for fluids. Fluids are also used in high-value crops in some countries of the Middle East and Latin America. 

Sodium nitrate is used as a fertilizer and in a number of industrial processes. In the period from 1880—1910 it accounted for 60% of the world fertilizer nitrogen production. In the 1990s sodium nitrate accounts for 0.1% of the world fertilizer nitrogen production, and is used for some specific crops and soil conditions. This decline has resulted from an enormous growth in fertilizer manufacture and an increased use of less expensive nitrogen fertilizers (qv) produced from synthetic ammonia (4 )5 such as urea (qv), ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphates, ammonium sulfate, and ammonia itself (see Ammonium compounds). The commercial production of synthetic ammonia began in 1921, soon after the end of World War I. The main industrial market for sodium nitrate was at first the manufacture of nitric acid (qv) and explosives (see Explosives and propellants). As of the mid-1990s sodium nitrate was used in the production of some explosives and in a number of industrial areas. 

In the industrialized countries of the World the production of superphosphate has been declining for some time, because, with a P205-content of only 19 to 20%, a very high proportion of ballast has to be transported with it. In addition the biological availability of the phosphorus is lower than with other fertilizers. Superphosphate is still important in China and Eastern Europe. The world production by regions in 1994 is given in Table 2.1-4. 

Ammonium phosphates (mono- and di-ammonium phosphates) are particularly important in the USA. Table 2.1-6 gives the world production for ammonium phosphate fertilizers by region. 

The total world production of urea is about 100 million tons per year. By far the largest part of it is used as a nitrogen fertilizer both in solid form and in solution this consumes approximately 87% of all urea production. It is also a livestock feed additive (5%) and a raw material for urea-formaldehyde resins (6%) and melamine (1%). Other applications (1%) include its use as deicing agent, raw material for fine chemicals (cyanuric acid, sulfamic acid), formation of crystalline clathrates, and so on. 

Synthesis of ammonia in the Haber-Bosch process is one of the best studied catalytic processes. The process was developed by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch and patented in 1910 (Haber, 1910) Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1918 for this work. Today, almost all ammonia production is based on the Haber-Bosch process, and it is one of the largest chemical processes in the world with a yearly production of approximately 120 million tonnes (from the International Fertilizer Industry Association, World Ammonia Statistics for 2005). The main use of ammonia is as fertilizer for agriculture, which constitutes 80% of the world production. 

X 10 metric tons world production —16-17 X 10 metric tons. Peanut proteins have been used to produce a fiber, SoleIon. The shells are used in the manuf of furfural, xylose, cellulose, plastics, mucilage, also in fertilizers and cattle feed. 

Fertilizer. Fertilizer continues to be a critical need for the progress of India (21, 22, 23, 24). All fertilizer production is of modem origin with very little production occurring before 1961. Most of the manure is used as fuel so that there has been little use of fertilizers within India. In India, the application rate is only 13.2 kg/ha as contrasted to the 47.4 kg/ha in the world as a whole. This means that the production levels of fertilizer are going to have to increase dramatically in the future. A large portion of investment in the next five-year plan will be in fertilizers. The production of total fertilizer content (N, P, K) in 1961 was 347,000 tons, by 1977 it was estimated to be 2,430,000 metric tons. The largest problem with fertilizers is a very low utilization factor. In 1977, this was less than 55%. 

The world production of rapeseed meal is shown in Table VI. In Asia essentially all the locally produced meal is of the high glucosinolate type. It is used principally for fertilizer with small amounts fed to ruminants. However, most countries importing rapeseed now prefer the Canadian canola seed because of the superior nutritional value of the low glucosinolate meal. The Chinese are very interested in developing low glucosinolate cultivars for their own use for similar reasons. 

Asia increased its share from 19% in 1979/80 to 33% in 1992/93 (Figure 3.3).-In contrast to its decreased-share in fertilizer use, North America maintained its share in fertilizer production at about one-fourth of the world production. The major loser was Western Europe its share in global fertilizer production dropped from 23%... 

World Phosphate Rock Production and Quality - Commercial production of phosphate rock for the production of fertilizers began in the mid-19th century. In 1847, about 500 tonnes of phosphate rock was mined in Suffolk, England [42], World production increased to 5,000 tonnes in 1850, 10,000 tonnes in 1853, over 100,000 tonnes in 1865, over 1 million tonnes in 1885, over 10 million tonnes in 1928, and over 100 million tonnes in 1974. In the mid-1970s, one estimate indicated that world phosphate rock production would be about 300 million tonnes by the year 2000 [43]. 

Figure 16.1. Estimated World Production of Fertilizers by Product Type.

Potash is obtained both by underground mining and from the evaporation of natural brines as illustrated in the photograph. World production of potash rose from 0.32 Mt in 19(X) to 35 Mt in 2008, with the major producers being Canada, Russia, Belarus and Germany. About 95% of potash produced is destined for use in fertilizers. The potash market collapsed... 

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