Improving Efficiency in Phosphate Production

Through Selection of Best Available Technology

and Effective Managerial Strategies
S.K.Mishra
Senior General Manager, IFFCO Kandla

Summary: Survival of the fittest is the key word in the emerging global competition. For a
fertilizer manufacturing organization, making available the required quantity of best quality
fertilizer at the right time and at the right price and also making profit in the process is a huge
task and challenge as the cost of raw materials for producing fertilizers is very high and
farmers cannot afford such high costs. Hence continuous efforts are required to be made to
reduce costs by taking multidimensional steps like absorption of new, proven and efficient
technologies and subsequent effective managerial strategies in day to day production and
operations management,. This paper describes the steps taken by IFFCO Kandla to improve
the efficiency of its complex phosphatic NPK/DAP manufacturing plant at Kandla.

IFFCO

Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) is a multi-state cooperative society

engaged in production and distribution of chemical fertilizers. Registered on 3.11.1967, the
Society commissioned its first two plants at Kalol and Kandla in Gujarat in 1975 for production
of Urea and NPK/DAP, respectively. It expanded its production facilities in 1981 by
commissioning two additional streams of phosphatic fertilizers at Kandla and a new urea plant at
Phulpur. Another gas-based plant was commissioned in 1988 at Aonla, Uttar Pradesh.

Further, during the period 1996 to 1999, the installed capacity of all the three ammonia/urea
plants at Aonla, Kalol and Phulpur was doubled by expanding. The capacity was raised from 16.2
lakh tons to 32.2 lakh tons. The Kandla unit was also expanded and the new plant was
commissioned on 5th August, 1999. The annual capacity of NPK/DAP was increased from 9 lakh
tons to 16 lakh tons of bulk fertilizer or 3.09 lakh tons to 5.61 lakh tons of P2O5 output.

IFFCO’s Kandla Plant

IFFCO’s Kandla plant is located on the western bank of Kandla creek adjacent to Kandla Port
Trust oil Jetties.

The plant produces NPK/DAP complex phosphatic fertilizers of various grades, namely NPK
grades 10:26:26, 12:32:16 & DAP 18:46:00 in terms of N:P2O5:K2O.

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The plant, originally consisting of only 2 streams A&B and related facilities was designed &
erected by M/s Dorr Oliver Inc. USA at a cost of Rs. 30 crores with an annual licensed capacity
of 1,27,000 MT P2O5. The plant was commissioned on 26th Nov. 1974 and commercial
production declared on 1st Jan,1975.

With increased demand for complex fertilizers, the capacity was doubled by addition of two
more streams C & D designed & erected by HDO at a cost of Rs. 28.80 crores. Licensed
capacity was increased from 1,27,000 MT P2O5 per annum to 2,60,000 MT P2O5 per annum.
The expanded unit was commissioned on 4th June 1981 and the commercial production was
started from 6th Sept. 1981. Subsequently due to introduction of production of DAP grade, the
total capacity increased to 3,09,000 MT per annum of P2O5.

All the four streams are based on the conventional TVA slurry granulation process using a
vertical cylindrical vessel for reaction.

Rated capacity for each stream and each grade for phase I plant consisting of four streams
is as follows :

Grade Rated capacity in MTPH for A,B,C & D

streams
Grade 10:26:26 50
Grade 12:32:16 40
Grade 18:46:00 30

The operation of NPK/DAP plant is quite complex and difficult as there are many process
parameters to be monitored and controlled with respect to both chemical analysis and physical
condition of the product which should be strictly maintained within the tolerances specified
under Fertilizer Control Order. The operator has to keep this stringent quality requirement in
focus always and operate the plant at best possible efficiencies so as to maximize production at
minimum cost or inputs per unit of production.

PROCESS DESCRIPTION OF A CONVENTIONAL PLANT

Please refer simplified process flow diagram.

The process steps in brief for any complex phosphatic fertilizer plant consists of ammoniation
of merchant grade phosphoric acid upto mole ratio of 1.4 i.e. moles of ammonia to moles of
phosphoric acid in a vertical cylindrical continuous stirred tank reactor of SS 316L based on
required production rates with a split of about 70% of total acid requirement in the reactor and
the balance 30% of the acid being sent to scrubbers which finally comes back to the reactor after
scrubbing. The exothermic heat of reaction evaporates water and the boiling slurry is at 115 to
120 deg. C. This hot slurry is pumped into the granulator for completion of ammoniation upto
1.8 mole ratio and enable granulation in a granulator where other solid raw materials like potash (

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for potassic grades only), urea and filler if any are added. The material from granulator having
about 2.5% moisture is discharged into a rotary dryer in which co-current hot air generated in a
combustion chamber using fuel oil is supplied. The dried material having 1% moisture is sent to
screens to separate the oversize, undersize and product. The oversize is crushed in pulverizers
and recycled to granulator along with the undersize and part of the product to control the
moisture in the granulator at 2.5% which is the optimum for our NPK/DAP product. Hence there
is a stepwise reduction of moisture from 18% at discharge of reactor to less than 1% in the
product. The hot product from screens are cooled in a countercurrent rotary cooler using ambient
air and sent for storage.

The unreacted ammonia fumes and water vapor from the reactor and granulator are sucked
through fans into venturi type gas scrubbers. The scrubber liquor consists of acidic ammonium
phosphate liquor at 1.2 mole ratio obtained by adding part of the total acid requirement along
with water into the scrubber system. The scrubber liquor scrubs the ammonia in the gas stream
and the liquor is recycled to the main reactor. This is a total liquid recycle process and there are
no effluents. The scrubbed gas is then discharged into atmosphere through a stack. Prior to the
wet scrubbers high efficiency cyclones remove the lager sized dust from dryer and cooler and
various other material handling equipment like elevators, flight conveyors, pulverizers etc.

The finished product from cooler is sent to the storage.

KANDLA PHASE - II EXPANSION PLANT

The market scenario of phosphatic fertilizers is complicated. The demand for NPK/DAP
fertilizers is ever increasing while the selling price is under the control of the Government which
has to decide on prices affordable by the farmers and also monitor the supply or availability
situation so that the farmers are able to buy the fertilizer at the right time. On the other hand the
cost of production of these fertilizers is very high due to total dependency on imports and
international prices and the global demand supply situation of various raw materials like rock
phosphate, phosphoric acid, potash, ammonia and finished product DAP. The Government fixes
concessions for making up the difference between the selling price and the industry’s cost of
fertilizer production at the farmer’s doorstep. But these concessions are not pro-rata as there is
immense pressure on the Government to keep the concessions within certain limits. The industry
thus does not get adequately compensated for the cost of manufacture. Hence there is a
continuous balancing act by the Government through frequent policy changes to appease both the
industry and the farmer. This generates a strong pressure on the producers to keep the cost of
production as low as possible by producing more & more within the existing plant capacity and
also operate the plants at high efficiency levels.

Keeping the above situation in view, and based on the expected rise in demand of complex
fertilizers, IFFCO went in for expansion of their unit at Kandla. IFFCO had to meet the
challenge of low cost of production, high production volumes and highest possible conversion
efficiencies.

Selection of Best Available Technology

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The production technology of phosphatic fertilizers has changed especially in the area of reactors
process control/instrumentation and pollution control systems. In the early sixties till eighties the
reactor consisted of a TVA conventional slurry granulation process with vertical cylindrical
stirred tank using refractory lining ( vintage) converted to SS316L during seventies. The same
has been adapted for our older plants as mentioned above. But this technology limits the
production capacity due to the reactor type. Global research efforts were made to achieve better
use of the heat of reaction of phosphoric acid and ammonia. The emerging scenario was the use
of pipe reactors operated under pressure at a higher temperature of 125 to 130 deg. C instead of
the stirred tank reactors at atmospheric pressure and 115 to 120 deg. C. This gave a major
advantage in terms of reduced moisture input, lower solid recycle thus giving higher capacity for
the same throughput and lower energy consumption. Simultaneously, the equipment used for
scrubbing off gases was also improved due to pressures from environmental angle. Many of the
older plants went in for retrofits with pipe reactor technology and improved scrubbing
equipment. This lowered the cost of production also as with the same plant and same number or
reduced number of operators, plants were able to produce say 1000 to 1200 MT per day instead
of 600 to 800 MT per day with conventional design. When new capacities were built, the
technology turnaround was total as almost all went for the pipe reactor technology either by
retrofitting or installing new plants.

Presently there are various forms of pipe reactor technology with the main purpose of effective
use of the heat of reaction and heat distribution methodologies for energy efficiency and higher
capacity like single pipe reactor in granulator as per original innovation of TVA further off
shooting into pressure reactor using a pressure vessel, pipe reactor in dryer, dual pipe reactor in
granulator and dryer, pipe reactor in combination with preneutraliser, pipe reactor using gaseous
ammonia instead of liquid ammonia. The purpose of the variations is to enable flexibility of
production of various grades of fertilizers at high capacities using different types of raw
materials with better energy efficiency, lower emissions and zero effluent in view.

It was also possible to achieve zero fuel input for drying also called auto thermal process wherein
the heat of reaction is enough to produce product of required moisture content of 1.5% or lower.

After comparing all the available technologies including retrofit possibilities, IFFCO Kandla
zeroed in on the dual pipe reactor technology for a new plant as it was a combination of proven
conventional Dorr Oliver Technology remoulded in terms of process design or in other words a
ready made retrofitted version to suit this type of dual pipe reactor technology along with latest
high tech state of art process control and instrumentation system. The experience of IFFCO’s
operators in the conventional process helped in absorbing the new technology faster. Training
had to imparted only for handling the hardware and software of computer based process control.
This choice of technology has proved to be immensely successful.

Kandla phase-II NPK/DAP project conceptualized the setting up of two additional E & F
streams for manufacture of the same grades of NPK/DAP fertilizers with an annual production
capacity of 2,10,700 MTPA of P2O5 thus increasing the total capacity from 3,09,000 MTPA of

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P2O5 to 5,19,700 MTPA of P2O5. The actual cost of the project was Rs. 205.30 crores against a
budgeted cost of Rs. 212.20 crores.

The main consultant for the NPK/DAP plant was M/s Hindustan Dorr Oliver, Mumbai with the
pipe reactor technology obtained from process licensor M/s Grande paroisse, France. The
construction of E&F streams was completed 77 days ahead of schedule. The E & F streams were
commissioned on 10th June 1999 & 9th July 1999 respectively and the commercial production
started from 5th August ‘1999.

The advantages of dual pipe reactors over conventional stirred tank reactor are:

Better heat distribution resulting in better utilization of heat of reaction.

Lower solid recycle ratio of 1:4 for DAP instead of 1:7 for conventional process hence
higher capacity for the same equipment size.

Lower energy consumption due to lower moisture input for drying.

Low emission of pollutants like ammonia and particulate to suit Pollution Control Board
norms due to better scrubbers with additional tail gas scrubber.

Better process control resulting in improved raw material consumption efficiencies due to
latest instrumentation based on DCS.

Better quality control

Fast startup and shutdown of plant

Process description of dual pipe reactor technology:

Rated capacity for each stream and each grade for phase II plant consisting of two streams
is as follows :

Grade Rated capacity in MTPH

E & F streams
Grade 10:26:26 60
Grade 12:32:16 52
Grade 18:46:00 42

Merchant grade Phosphoric acid containing 52 to 54% P2O5 is reacted with liquid Ammonia in
dryer pipe reactor (DPR) installed inside the rotary dryer upto a mole ratio of 1:1.05 (moles of
Ammonia to moles of H3PO4 ) and also in the granulator pipe reactor (GPR) installed inside the
rotary drum granulator upto a mole ratio of 1:1.4.

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The reaction is highly exothermic resulting in the evaporation of water content of the phosphoric
acid . The resultant discharge from the DPR & GPR falls on the rotating bed of recycle fertilizer
material in the corresponding equipment i.e. Granulator & Dryer. Dry raw materials like Urea,
Filler & Muriate of Potash are added into the granulator. The fertilizer material in the granulator
is further ammoniated to a mole ratio of 1:1.8 by sparging liquid ammonia through the fertilizer
material in the bed of the granulator. The granulated fertilizer containing about 2.5% moisture is
then discharged to the rotary dryer where it is heated with hot air from the combustion chamber
in a co-current flow. The moisture of the fertilizer material gets reduced to less than 1%.

The fertilizer material is then screened in double deck vibrating screens . The separated oversize
material (above 4 mm) is crushed in roll crushers and forms part of the recycle sent to the
granulator, the product size material (-4 mm to 1 mm) goes to a rotary cooler and is the final
product, the fines material (less than 1 mm) is also recycled back to the granulator.

The off gases from dryer and cooler are passed through respective dryer and cooler cyclones and
then sent for wet scrubbing. The off gases from the granulator are first scrubbed in an inclined
venturi scrubber followed by a wet venturi type fumes scrubber. The exit gas from the dryer and
granulator scrubbers are once again passed through a tail gas scrubber for maximum recovery of
nutrient from these gases, before being discharged to the stack. Dust from various dust
generation points at different locations are sucked by the dust fan through a network of ducting
lines. The higher particle size is seperated in cyclones and later sent for wet scrubbing to remove
the finer particles. The scrubbing medium is weak phosphoric acid solution. The scrubber liquor
is consumed in the granulator pipe reactor and the dryer pipe reactor.

Process control and Instrumentation philosophy:

Process control and instrumentation plays a vital role in the operating efficiency of any process
plant. Using the latest available system enables better consumption efficiencies of raw materials
especially where product quality or grade control plays a prime role in high value raw materials.

IFFCO Kandla’s older plants are based on the vintage, conventional pneumatic process control
systems which has become obsolete.

For the first time in India for NPK/DAP manufacturing plant, IFFCO Kandla conceptualized a
state of art microprocessor based process control system with distributed control and data
acquisition system on latest open technology and open industry standards for reliable, effective
and optimum control and monitoring of process plant. The operator from a remote centralized
control room has access control or obtains data from plant which has been arranged in a
distributed manner. The plant operator runs the plant through consoles consisting of CRT screens
and keyboards. The objective of open system besides process measurements, controls and report
management, is to reduce the system integration by providing connectivity conformance,
multivendor inter operability and information integration networking. A video camera has been
installed in front of the granulator discharge for enabling the panel operator to monitor the
condition of the material.

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IFFCO Kandla choose the Yokogawa Bluestar Centum CS1000 for its distributed control
system.

The basic configuration includes Human Interface Station for operating and monitoring function,
Field Control Station for various control functions like regulatory/sequence,calculation and unit
supervision function and VL net for communication functions.

The main advantage of this process control system by which efficiency has been improved is the
speed and accuracy in measurement and control of phosphoric acid, ammonia and scrubber liquor
flows to the two pipe reactors and also the accuracy of the solid material feeds like potash, urea
and filler. This has resulted in greater optimization of plant operations with a lower band of mean
variations from set points and faster response of the operator to variations in flows due to the
digital communication systems.

With this combination of latest energy efficient process technology and process control and
instrumentation systems the expanded plants of IFFCO Kandla are operating at better efficiencies
than the older conventional plants.

Effective Managerial Strategies:

After selection of best available technology, installation and commissioning of a plant, it is

necessary to maintain high standards of operating efficiencies on day to day basis by monitoring
and control of various parameters affecting the plant efficiency.

The parameters affecting efficiency in any chemical process plant are:

1. loss of materials at various process stages starting from material receipt to product reaching
destinations which need to be identified, quantified & prevented.
2. Capacity utilization ( plant load & on-stream days)
3. Plant operation and process control
4. Cost reduction programs (target fixing and performance monitoring)
5. Quality control systems
6. Energy efficiency
7. Maintenance management practices
8. Strict housekeeping activities & Waste reduction
9. Resource conservation and reuse
10. Environment and Safety management
11. Human resources management

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12. Inventory management and material requirement planning

At IFFCO Kandla the above parameters are monitored on day to day basis through daily
production meetings as an essential management function.

Out of the above parameters, one parameter i.e. ‘Cost Reduction Program’ is taken as an example
of strategic management style for this specific paper. IFFCO Kandla has been able to trim costs
wherever possible to maintain low cost of production and achieve better efficiencies in the
process. In fact this aspect covers most of the other control parameters also.

At the start of the financial year 2000-2001, all production units identified areas where cost
reduction is possible through simple control measures and fixed targets of reduction during the
year when compared to the previous year. Each unit prepared a comprehensive document listing
the areas with targets for reduction. Targets were fixed for improving the raw material
consumption efficiencies also. This information was disseminated to all employees through
various forums and meetings like joint union management councils etc. The commitment and
participation of all as a team was sought. The response was tremendous at all levels. IFFCO
Kandla has a tradition of responding positively to any challenge and this was considered to be a
major challenge. Plans were made to improve the efficiencies step by step at various stages like
handling of raw materials, process control, quality control, emissions through stacks, product
handling and bagging, vigorous recovery of solid material spillage and housekeeping and even
transit loss reduction. Weekly monitoring of the same was done at executive levels.

As a result of this team exercise, there was an improvement in efficiency to the tune of more
than 1.5% in the raw material consumption. Energy consumption was also reduced by 6.7%.

In the field of environment management IFFCO Kandla has obtained the ISO 14001 certification
during the year 2000-2001 from MS BVQI.

Conclusion: The Indian phosphatic fertilizer industry has to raise itself to the challenge of global
competetion after removal of Quantitative Restrictions on imports under WTO so as to meet
headlong the low cost, better quality fertilizers imported from abroad. The government has to
implement free market in the days to come and remove all protections to the industry except
maybe fixing the lowest possible selling price of fertilizers to the farmer. Hence survival of the
fittest will be the key word. This can be achieved only by making continuous improvement in the
operating efficiencies of the plant, lowering the cost of production by any means like alternate
raw material and its sources, sourcing the cheapest available raw material based on the global
demand supply which has to be continuously monitored, joint ventures abroad and best
management practices. Finally it is clearly written on the wall that only the market savvy can
survive.

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