Fertiliser production

FERTILISER PRODUCTION

ABHINANDINI DAS ( 00920705613) ENE-5TH SEM 1


WHAT IS A FERTILISER?• A fertilizer is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied

to soils or to plant tissues (usually leaves) to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants.

• NPK- NITROGEN PHOSPHOROUS POTASSIUM

• Natural Fertilizer- Organic fertilizer Synthetic Fertilizer- Chemical fertilizer

WHY DO PLANTS NEED FERTILISERS?Plants need to be fertilizers because most soil does not provide the essential nutrients required for optimum growth.

EXAMPLE-


Nitrogen• Helps in making the proteins

• Helps in producing new tissues

• Growth may be stunted

• Its deficiency also causes yellowing of leaves

Phosphorous• Stimulates root growth,

• Helps the plant set buds and flowers,

• Improves vitality and increases seed size.


Potassium• Improves overall vigor of the plant.

• It helps the plants make carbohydrates and

• Provides disease resistance.

• It also helps to regulate metabolic activities.

• Its deficiency leads to formation of spots on leaves and fruits

• transfer energy from one part of the plant to another.

• To absorb phosphorous, most plants require a soil pH of 6.5 to 6.8

• Organic matter and the activity of soil organisms also increase the availability of phosphorus.


The micronutrients are also essential .Example—

• Calcium – used by cell membrane to neutralize toxic materials.

• Also helps in improving strength

• Helps to bind organic and inorganic particles together.

• Magnesium – helps in making chlorophyll .

• Sulphur – helps in making proteins

• Other micronutrients are – Boron , copper , iron .



PRODUCTION -----

Raw Materials• Primary fertilizers include substances derived from nitrogen,

phosphorus, and potassium. Various raw materials are used to produce these compounds.

• When ammonia is used as the nitrogen source in a fertilizer, one method of synthetic production requires the use of natural gas and air.

• The phosphorus component is made using sulfur, coal, and phosphate rock.

• The potassium source comes from potassium chloride, a primary component of potash.


• Secondary nutrients are added to some fertilizers to help make them more effective.

• Calcium is obtained from limestone, which contains calcium carbonate and others such as calcium sulphate, calcium magnesium carbonate.

• The magnesium source in fertilizers is derived from dolomite.

• Sulfur is another material that is mined and added to fertilizers.

• Other mined materials include iron from ferrous sulfate, copper, and boron from boron oxide



PHOSPHOROUS FERTILISER PRODUCTION PROCESS-


POTASSIUM FERTILISER PRODUCTION PROCESSES-


To produce fertilizer in the most usable form, each of the different compounds, are granulated and blended together.

Granulating

Granulation is the act or process of forming or crystallizing into grains. Granules typically have a size range between 0.2 and 4.0 mm depending on their subsequent use.

Granulation is carried out for various reasons, one of which is to prevent the segregation of the constituents of powder mix. Segregation is due to differences in the size or density of the component of the mix.

• One method of granulation involves putting the solid materials into a rotating drum which has an inclined axis.


• As the drum rotates, pieces of the solid fertilizer take on small spherical shapes. They are passed through a screen that separates out adequately sized particles. A coating of inert dust is then applied to the particles, keeping each one discrete and inhibiting moisture retention.

• • Finally, the particles are dried, completing the granulation process.

Blending The different types of particles are blended together in appropriate

proportions to produce a composite fertilizer. The blending is done in a large mixing drum that rotates a specific

number of turns to produce the best mixture possible. After mixing, the fertilizer is emptied onto a conveyor belt, which

transports it to the bagging machine.



Bagging

Fertilizers are typically supplied to farmers in large bags. To fill these bags the fertilizer is first delivered into a large hopper. An appropriate amount is released from the hopper into a bag that is

held open by a clamping device. The bag is on a vibrating surface, which allows better packing. When

filling is complete, the bag is transported upright to a machine that seals it closed.

The bag is then conveyed to a palletizer, which stacks multiple bags,

readying them for shipment to distributors and eventually to farmers.


Quality Control

• To ensure the quality of the fertilizer that is produced, manufacturers monitor the product at each stage of production.

• Some of the characteristics that are tested include pH, appearance, density, and melting point.

• Since fertilizer production is governmentally regulated, composition analysis tests are run on samples to determine total nitrogen content, phosphate content, and other elements affecting the chemical composition.


Byproducts/Waste

• Much of the fertilizer is washed into surrounding bodies of water or filters into the groundwater. This has added significant amounts of nitrates to the water that is consumed by the public.

• Some medical studies have suggested that certain disorders of the urinary and kidney systems are a result of excessive nitrates in drinking water.

• It is also thought that this is particularly harmful for babies and could even be potentially carcinogenic.

• When nitrite ions are ingested, they can get into the bloodstream. There, they bond with hemoglobin, a protein that is responsible for storing oxygen.

• When a nitrite ion binds with hemoglobin, it loses its ability to store oxygen, resulting in serious health problems.


• Nitrosamines are another potential byproduct of the nitrates in fertilizer. They are the result of a natural chemical reaction of nitrates.

• Nitrosamines have been shown to cause tumors in laboratory animals, feeding the fear that the same could happen in humans.


WASTESVariety of wastes are discharged from the Fertilizer plant as water pollutants while1. Processing chemicals like Sulphuric acid2. Process intermediate like Ammonium, Phosphoric and etc.3. Final products like urea, Ammonium sulphate, Ammonium phosphate etc.

• In addition to the above, oil bearing wastes from compressor houses of ammonia and urea plants, some portion of the cooling water and the wash water from the scrubbing towers, for the purification of gases, also come as waste.

• Both alkaline and acidic wastes are also expected from the boiler feed water treatment plant, the wastes being generated during the regeneration of anion and cation exchanger units.

• Additional pollutants like phenol and cyanide will be introduced in the list of pollutants in the fertilizer plant


TREATMENT OF WASTES-Major pollutants in the fertilizers waste water for which the treatment is necessary include oil, arsenic, ammonia, urea, phosphate and fluoride.• Oil is removed in a gravity separator

• Arsenic containing waste is segregated and after its concentration the solid waste is disposed off in a safe place.

• Phosphate and fluoride bearing wastes are also segregated and chemically coagulated by lime.

Several alternatives are there for the treatment of Ammonia bearing wastes1. Steam stripping2. Air stripping in towers3. Lagooning after pH adjustment4. Biological nitrification and denitrification


• Biological nitrification involves oxidation of Ammonia to nitrate via nitrite under aerobic condition, this followed by the denitrification of the nitrified effluent under anaerobic condition, in which gaseous N2and N2O is the end product and is released to the atmosphere. The denitrification requires addition of some quantity of carbonaceous matter in the reactor.

• If urea removal is required the urea containing wastes must be retained for a sufficiently long time in an earthen lagoon to allow it to decompose first to ammonia


THE LEADING COMPANIES –1. Coromandel International Ltd.

2. Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd.

3. Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd.

4. Chambal Fertilizers & Chemical Ltd.

5. National Fertilizers Ltd.

6. Fertilizers & Chemicals Travancore Ltd.

7. Deepak Fertilizers & Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. 8. IIFCO

9. Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd.

10. Liberty Phosphate Ltd.


BiofertiliserHelp in fixing atmospheric nitrogen when suitable crops are inoculated .

• Bacterias that help to produce biofertilisers are- Rhizobium, Azotobacter, PSB, Azospirillium and Acetobacter.

• The biofertilisers are sold through cooperative societies and also distributed to the farmers as one of the component of Critical Input Package (CIP) to promote integrated use of nutrients.



ADVANTAGES

• Low cost

• Effective

• Environment friendly

• Renewable source of plant nutrients

• Add nutrients to soil

• Increase fertility and crop production


INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

• The Fertilizer Association of India

• International Fertilizer Industry Association

• International Fertilizer Development Center

• Fertilizer advisory , Development and Information network for Asia and the Pacific

• Fertilizer Market Bulletin

• The World Bank Group

• Food and Agriculture Organization of UN


The FutureFertilizer research is currently focusing

• on reducing the harmful environmental impacts

• finding new, less expensive sources of fertilizers

• to make fertilizers more environmentally

• New sources of fertilizers are also being investigated. It has been found that sewage sludge contains many of the nutrients that are needed for a good fertilizer.


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