Potassium fertilizers, production

KCl —NaCl —MgS04) and in many brines. Separated by fractional crystallization, soluble water and lower alcohols. Used in fertilizer production and to produce other potassium salts. 

Nitrogen solutions consist of fertilizer product combinations, eg, ammonium nitrate —ammonia, urea—ammonium nitrate—ammonia, urea—ammonium nitrate, and urea—ammonia solutions. Mixed fertilizers cover a broad range and can be loosely defined as fertilizers which contain chemically mixed nitrogen, phosphoms, and potassium (N—P—K). Examples are ammonium phosphate—potash mixtures and ammonium phosphate nitrates. 

Phosphorus containing fertilizers Phosphates are the basic substances in these fertilizers. Phosphorus is also essential for plants. Phosphorus compounds are produced by powdering rock phosphate and adding sulfuric acid to it. The resulting products - phosphoric acid and calcium salts (from the rock) are directly applied to the soil to increase its phosphorus content. Potassium fertilizers examples Potassium chloride, Potassium nitrate etc. A complete fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in a fixed ratio. This is called NPK fertilizer. 

Potassium Nitrate production for tobacco fertilizer and industrial markets. 

Usually, three numbers are used when giving the grade of a fertilizer product, and these three numbers always refer in order to the content of the primary nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. If other nutrients are present, their content can also be indicated in the grade of the fertilizer product each extra number is followed by the chemical symbol of the nutrient it represents. Many countries indicate the content of phosphorus and potassium not in the elemental form but in the oxide form, P205 and K20. Thus, a fertilizer product with a grade of... 

The sulfur-coating technique may be applied to fertilizers other than urea. Experimental work has included a coating of DAP, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, and various compound fertilizers, including a pan-granulated urea-potassium chloride product of 32-0-16 grade. 

Figure 4 Schematic flowsheet of unit producing dinoptilolite-based potassium fertilizer from seawater. Fj and F2 clinoptilolite filters serve for potassium preconcentration and fertilizer production, respectively R1-R3 recuperators provide heating/cooling to solutions under treatment.

Potassium chloride as a component in fertilizers is specified in terms of its K2O equivalent. On this basis, 100% pure potassium chloride is equated to 63.18% K2O equivalent. The approximately 96% pure potassium chloride product of the flotation separation is thus equivalent to 60.7% K2O (see Chap. 9). Chemical grades correspond to the once-crystallized, soluble product of about 99.5% KCl, and 99.95% KCl, which is the Refined, twice crystallized material. The price differential, 60-62.4% K2O equivalent at 108-112 US /tonne, and 99.95% KCl at 115-137 US /tonne (1995 prices [30]) is sufficient to cover the cost of the additional processing for Chemical grade potash. 

Justus von Liebig (1842) spread the knowledge that potassium is one of the important plant nutrition elements. In 1861, Adolph frank started the first plant using the process he had developed for producing from carnallite - a potassium salt that could be employed as a fertilizer. When Alsace was returned to franco at the end of World War I, the potash works become French property, so that Germany lost her monopoly in potash. Potash production in Spain began in 1926 in Catalonia. In Sicily (Italy) kainite deposits were used for potassium sulfate production. In Russia, potassium production began 1931 in the northern Urals. In 1939, the Soviet Union took over potassium... 

The first patent on ammonia oxidation wras issued to Khulman in 1839 in this case platinum was used as a catalyst to oxidize ammonia with air. The ammonia-oxidation method using a platinum catalyst qn a commercial scale, developed by Oswald and Brauer and first operated in Germany about 1908, is at present the principal industrial method of nitric acid producticxi. The main use for nitric acid is in fertiDzer production, mainly for ammonium nitrate as such or in compound fertilizers, nitrogen solutions, or mixed salts. About 75% of total nitric acid production is consumed for nitrate fertilizers, mainly as 509 5% concentration acid. Smaller fertilizer uses are for calcium and potassium nitrates. A primary use is in addulation of phosphate rock for production of nitrophosphates. Plant capacities for weak nitric acid i Bed for fertilizer production are in the range of 35 to 1,380 tpd althoi h capacities of 2,000 tpd have been designed. 

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. 

With minor exceptions, the commercial fertilizer, products are triple superphosphate (TSP), ammonium phosphates, and other compound fertilizers (some of the minor exceptions are potassium phosphates and magnesium ammonium phosphate [MgNH4P04]). Use of phosphoric acid in compound fertilizers will be described-under subject headings Compound Fertilizers" (Chapter 16), Liquid Fertilizers and Mtrogen Solutions" (Qiap-ter 10), and Nitrophosphate Fertilizers (Chapter 13). The present chapter wSi deal mainly wrath TSP and solid ammonium phosphates. 

Sources. The world produces about 30 million tons of potash each year. This is expressed as K2O and includes all primary potassium mineral products. Besides KCl, these include the sulfate and mixed potassium-magnesium sulfates. The major outlet for potash and agricultural fertilizers accounts for about 95% of production. Known... 

There are mainly three kinds of chemical fertihzers, i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. In order to increase the production and quality of grain, different kinds of chemical fertilizers should be used according to the nature of the soil and the crops. Among the three fertihzers, nitrogen fertilizer based on synthetic ammonia is the most widely used. 

Hydrophobizing properties may be imparted to fertilizer particles not only by modifying the surface of the final product but also in the course of fertilizer production. This method is used in the production of potassium chloride. The method is based on adding a 1% solution of an amine hydrochloride (of the fatty or aromatic series with 16-20 carbon atoms in the chain) to the KCl pulp before filtration (centrifuging). 

Ammonia in Multi-nutrient Fertilizers, The ammonia-based fertilizers discussed thus far all contain only one of the three major plant nutrients, namely, nitrogen. Referring again to Fig. 11.2, one may see that ammonia is the source of fertilizer nitrogen also, either directly or via nitrogen solids or solutions, in multinutrient fertilizers. These are fertilizers that contain two or three of the major plant nutrients-nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Ammonium phosphates, both mono-and di-, are phosphate fertilizer products that also carry nitrogen. (These will be discussed... 

Potassium Nitrate. Potassium nitrate, known but Httle used as a fertilizer for many years, may be reclaimed as a by-product of the production of sodium nitrate from natural deposits of caflche in Chile. KNO also has been produced by the double decomposition reaction between sodium nitrate and potassium chloride ... 

Potassium nitrate is being used increasingly on intensive crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco, leafy vegetables, citms, and peaches. The properties that make it particularly desirable for these crops are low salt index, nitrate nitrogen, favorable N K20 ratio, negligible CU content, and alkaline residual reaction in the soil. The low hygroscopicity of KNO (Table 9) leads to its use in direct appHcation and in mixtures. It is an excellent fertilizer but the high cost of production limits its use to specialty fertilizers. 

Some of the principal forms in which sulfur is intentionally incorporated in fertilizers are as sulfates of calcium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium, and as elemental sulfur. Ammonium sulfate [7783-20-2] normal superphosphate, and sulfuric acid frequendy are incorporated in ammoniation granulation processes. Ammonium phosphate—sulfate is an excellent sulfur-containing fertilizer, and its production seems likely to grow. Some common grades of this product are 12—48—0—5S, 12—12S, and 8—32—8—6.5S. 

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