Phosphate fertilizers –

Manufacturing process of Phosphate fertilizers

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 Formation of Phosphate Rock Deposits
• Most (>80%) PR used in fertilizer production is sedimentary, but igneous
deposits are also used
• Rock phosphate is a naturally occurring ore of marine sedimentary origin.
Igneous PR was formed mostly in shield areas and rift (crack) zones
PR Mining Techniques
Most phosphate rock is extracted through open pit mining techniques such
as
• Draglines
• Bucket wheel excavators
• Front end loader removal

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 Phosphate Rock Utilization Factors
• Concentrated (beneficiated) PRs are usually about 27% to 37% P2O5
(Phosphorus pentoxide) (may be as low as ~23%)
• Low free carbonate content to avoid excess consumption of acid in
phosphoric acid production
• Low Fe2O3 (ferric oxide or iron III oxide), Al2O3 (Aluminium oxide) and
MgO (Magnesium oxide) contents (below ~5%) to avoid formation of
intermediate products
• Low Cl- (Chloride ion) content (<500 ppm) to prevent equipment corrosion

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 Ore Impurities and Beneficiation
• Initial removal of impurities from PR ore is called beneficiation
• Beneficiation of PR involves removal of materials such as sand, clay,
carbonates, organics, and iron oxide
Beneficiation may involve
• Screening (wet or dry)
• Washing
• Hydrocyclones
• Calcination
• Flotation
• Magnets

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Conversion of PR to Phosphoric Acid
• After beneficiation, PR is converted to phosphoric acid
Two processes of phosphoric acid production
• Wet (chemical) process
• Electric furnace (thermal) process
The majority of P (Phosphate) fertilizer is produced by wet process
• Reaction of PR with acid
• The most common acid used on wet process is sulfuric (although
others such as nitric acid are also used)
• The two major feedstocks in P fertilizer manufacturing are PR and
elemental S (Sulphate).

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• Phosphate rock (PR) is the raw material used in the manufacture of most
commercial phosphate fertilizers on the market.
• With access to large, high-quality reserves of phosphate rock, Morocco, China
and US are the most important players in phosphate industry.
• Ground phosphate rock from the mines is first sent to recovery units to separate
sand and clay and to remove impurities. Most of the processes are wet to
facilitate material transport and to reduce dust.
• A weak phosphoric acid (40-55%) is produced from the reaction of PR with
sulfuric acid, using a wet- process. The obtained phosphoric acid is then used in
the production of a series of liquid or solid fertilizers. The most important ones
are single and triple superphosphates (SSP, TSP) and ammonium phosphates
(MAP, DAP - mono- and di-ammonium phosphate).
• Usually the plants are using flexible process technologies, allowing the
manufacture of at least two products with interchangeable lines (e.g. TSP and
DAP combination).

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• SSP is simple to produce but is nowadays less popular. TSP results from the
reaction of PR with phosphoric acid, using the common Dorr-Oliver slurry
granulation process. GTSP (granulated TSP) is obtained in this way, with
very good storage and handling properties.
• Economical and with high nutrient content, ammoniated phosphates such as
mono- and di-ammonium phosphate (MAP, DAP) are another popular
choice of fertilizers. They are obtained when ammonia (liquid or gaseous)
is added to the weak phosphoric acid.
• Phosphate fertilizers production flow-cart can be illustrated in the following
figure :

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• DAP (Diammonium Phosphate): The fertilizer that quickly became the item of
commerce because it had the highest concentration of phosphate and nitrogen.
• MAP (Monoammonium Phosphate): This fertilizer is essentially the same as DAP,
but it has a lower concentration of nitrogen.
• GTSP (Granulated Triple Superphosphate): This fertilizer is very similar to the
superphosphate fertilizer that was the fertilizer that traditionally provided the most
nutrients to the plant at 46% P<2O5. Since GTSP is made by reacting phosphate rock
with phosphoric acid, it also provides some calcium and sulfur to the plant.
• Superphosphoric Acid: A product that is used to make a higher-analysis, or a more
concentrated, fluid fertilizer. Liquid fertilization was said to be the future for
fertilizer in the 1970s. It did not, however, prove to be much better than traditional
DAP or MAP, which both can be slurried if necessary. Today the demand for the
product is not high and only a few companies produce superphosphoric acid.
The only Florida company producing the acid is PCS Phosphate mine in north
Florida.
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• Phosphoric Acid: In the past, phosphoric acid was shipped to granulation
plants that flourished in farming areas. There it was mixed with ammonia to
make phosphate fertilizer. Today only a few independent granulation plants
exist because the phosphate companies add the ammonia themselves to
produce the ammoniated phosphate fertilizer products they sell. Purified
technical- and food-grade phosphoric acid are also sold for use in items such
as soft drinks. This product, however, mostly comes from North Carolina and
Louisiana phosphate operations.

• Animal Feed Supplements: Defluorinated phosphate rock or phosphoric

acid are used to make animal feed supplements. PCS, in north Florida, and
Mosaic in central Florida produce animal feed supplements. One way to
produce the feed is to combine phosphate rock with a small amount of
phosphoric acid, sodium carbonate and then calcine. The most common
method, however, is to defluorinate phosphoric acid and react it with lime to
get dicalcium phosphate.
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• Sulfuric Acid: This acid is produced at phosphate plants for use in
reacting with phosphate rock to produce phosphoric acid. The heat
generated off sulfuric acid production is used to power phosphate
manufacturing plants and extra energy is often sold back to the area
electric grid. Some sulfuric acid may be sold separately as a product.

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