A Review on Potash Recovery from Different Rock and Mineral Sources

The production of fertilizers has been evolving steadily in the last 300 years. It involves a high number of commodities and reagents that share a large portion of the costs and emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). Phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium fertilizers components represent more than 200 million tonnes of production annually. Given that most of the fertilizer production process is dependent on fossil fuels as fuel and feedstock, the amount of CO2 generated is at least 3 tonnes CO2 per tonne of fertilizer. The introduction, in the future, of less intensive carbon technological components and lower energy-consuming separation and catalytic technologies in the fertilizers industry has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions drastically. In this review, we thoroughly analyze the GHG emissions of the fertilizers industry over time and explore pathways to achieve viable and sustainable decarbonization solutions. In the review, we also aim to explore, whenever information is available, the factors (sources) and the ranges of GHG emissions in the different value chains of fertilizer plants. As a result, an overview of the literature on GHG emissions from synthetic fertilizers (N, P, K) industries will be given. More emphasis is on emissions that stem from the extraction of raw materials to final fertilizer products (energy source, efficiency, and fertilizer type) and transportation of intermediates within different sites of the plants (vehicle type, fuel type, and efficiency). A perspective analysis on possible recommendations for future net-zero carbon emissions and carbon capture technologies is also made.

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“…Potash is precipitated and recovered using dredges. Multiple cycles of the process can take place. , …”

Section: Potash Fertilizers Processes Decarbonizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Net-Zero Emission Fertilizers Industry: Greenhouse Gas Emission Analyses and Decarbonization Solutions

et al. 2022

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“…In contrast to nitrogen, it is unclear whether we can economically produce a Haber–Bosch-like procedure (which allows for ammoniac, NH3, recycling and makes nitrogen a renewable, infinite entity) for phosphorus extraction by developing an alternative for producing marketable phosphate rock. Potassium production from rocks and soluble salts can be supplemented utilizing sea resources but not yet due to the economic costs involved (Jena 2021 ). Currently, this functions only on a demonstration-plant scale (Ghara et al 2014 ).…”

Section: The Role Of Mineral Economics In Transdisciplinary Processes...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of transdisciplinarity for mineral economics and mineral resource management: coping with fallacies related to phosphorus in science and practice

Scholz

Steiner

2022

Miner Econ

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Mineral economics is a genuine multidisciplinary field dealing with economic and policy matters related to the production, distribution, and consumption of mineral commodities. We discuss why the increasing complexity, ambiguity, ambivalence, and social contestation of subjects of mineral economics promote the participation of mineral economists in transdisciplinary processes. These processes relate (a) knowledge from targeted interdisciplinary processes and (b) mitigated discourses among different stakeholders to provide (c) a shared problem definition and to attain shared basic knowledge about problem transformation science and practice. We discuss known examples of misperceptions regarding minerals (phosphorus), such as an imminent scarcity threat, the incorrectly understood causations of the 2007/2008 price peak and present the phosphorus ore-grades increased by 3.2% between 1983 and 2013 fallacies (which is based on the Simpson’s paradox), and only few countries have mineable reserves fallacy. Here, we also illuminate motivations underlying several mineral economics–related misunderstandings. We argue that societally relevant questions require an honest mineral economics knowledge brokership. The example of the Global TraPs project, which targeted sustainable phosphorus management, is presented. Honest brokership to attain a clearinghouse function of science requires trust formation in society. We argue that this calls for increasing the understandability of relationships that are not well-understood, such as “if prices rise, so do stocks.” Wellmer and Becker-Platen’s feedback control cycle may be considered an example of how complex mineral economics can become and how challenging it is to be understandable to scientists from different disciplines and faculties as well as to practitioners whose knowledge may well be used to cope with the complexity of given problems. Thus, the present paper represents a plea for mutual learning between science and practice in order to understand the complex social and economic challenges of mineral resource dynamics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hydrated sulfates are the most common and important minerals of evaporite deposits (Jena, 2021). Kainite, KMg(SO 4 )Cl⋅2.75H 2 O (Zincken, 1865; Robinson et al , 1972), is an essential potassium concentrator in this formation, as well as an important potassium ore along with sylvite KCl, carnallite KMgCl 3 ⋅6H 2 O, langbeinite K 2 Mg 2 (SO 4 ) 3 and polyhalite K 2 Ca 2 Mg(SO 4 ) 4 ⋅2H 2 O (Spencer, 2000; Babel and Schreiber, 2014; Jena, 2021). As the most important potassium deposits are connected with evaporites, the flotation properties of potassium minerals, including complex potassium salts and kainite in particular, have been studied (Miller and Yalamanchili, 1994; Hancer and Miller, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex hydrogen bonding and thermal behaviour over a wide temperature range of kainite KMg(SO₄)Cl⋅2.75H₂O

Borisov

Siidra

Уголков

et al. 2022

MinMag

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Kainite, KMg(SO4)Cl⋅2.75H2O, is one of the most common hydrated sulfate minerals, and it plays an important role as a source of potassium. However, its properties and structure have, to date, been insufficiently studied. In our present work, kainite was investigated using multiple techniques, including single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The mineral is monoclinic, C2/m, a = 19.6742(2), b = 16.18240(10), c = 9.49140(10) Å, β = 94.8840(10)°, V = 3010.86(5) Å3 and Z = 16. The structure was refined to R1 = 0.0230 for 3080 unique observed reflections with |Fo| ≥ 4σF. The complex hydrogen bonding system for kainite is described for the first time. The structure of kainite contains seven symmetrically independent sites occupied by water molecules, six of which are strongly bonded to Mg2+ cations while the seventh resides in the framework cavities. The acceptors of the hydrogen bonds are either chloride anions, neighbouring water molecules or oxygens atoms of sulfate groups. A bifurcated hydrogen bond was described for one of the water molecules. Based on the analysis of the crystal structure, we have confirmed and propose the correct formula for kainite as KMg(SO4)Cl⋅2.75H2O. The thermal studies of kainite in the temperature range of –150°C to +600°C indicate its stability to 190°C. The decomposition products are K2Mg2(SO4)3, KCl and K2SO4. The thermal expansion was calculated, which for kainite has a character typical for monoclinic crystals and similar to the compressibility tensor described earlier.

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A Review on Potash Recovery from Different Rock and Mineral Sources

Cited by 29 publications

References 100 publications

Toward Net-Zero Emission Fertilizers Industry: Greenhouse Gas Emission Analyses and Decarbonization Solutions

Toward Net-Zero Emission Fertilizers Industry: Greenhouse Gas Emission Analyses and Decarbonization Solutions

The role of transdisciplinarity for mineral economics and mineral resource management: coping with fallacies related to phosphorus in science and practice

Complex hydrogen bonding and thermal behaviour over a wide temperature range of kainite KMg(SO₄)Cl⋅2.75H₂O

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A Review on Potash Recovery from Different Rock and Mineral Sources

Cited by 29 publications

References 100 publications

Toward Net-Zero Emission Fertilizers Industry: Greenhouse Gas Emission Analyses and Decarbonization Solutions

Toward Net-Zero Emission Fertilizers Industry: Greenhouse Gas Emission Analyses and Decarbonization Solutions

The role of transdisciplinarity for mineral economics and mineral resource management: coping with fallacies related to phosphorus in science and practice

Complex hydrogen bonding and thermal behaviour over a wide temperature range of kainite KMg(SO4)Cl⋅2.75H2O

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Complex hydrogen bonding and thermal behaviour over a wide temperature range of kainite KMg(SO₄)Cl⋅2.75H₂O