Right now, fertilizer producing companies are starting a race in search of solutions which will meet market demand and, more importantly, help expedite the process of starting new production.
Metso Outotec has been serving the fertilizer market by offering solutions specifically for the crushing stage as well as for other specialized services. Considering this experience, a national fertilizer producing company has decided to invest in a solution that combines the vibrating feeder, primary jaw crusher and vibrating pan in order to triple its production capacity. The equipment will be part of a second line of the company and will add a production capacity of 1.2 million tons/year to the mineral processing of this customer.
The Metso Outotec C Series™ jaw crushers are well known in the industry. They are already widely used and are specially conceived to crush harder minerals and rocks. The vibrating pan, which is part of the assembly, is one of the inclined screen options of the CVB series. The pan is considered multifunctional and is normally indicated for stationary plants when the application doesn´t require special options. The pans are also frequently recommended for primary applications with very coarse feed grading.
Local production in line with the strategy to promote the self-sufficiency of Brazil
In addition to local production, the project supported by Metso Outotec is strategically located in Minas Gerais, next to the Brazilian agricultural frontiers. The current plant has already been operating for almost five years and has consolidated products in the national agribusiness market. Furthermore, the project has a strong sustainability footprint, since it will involve the recovery of degraded areas along with the mineral exploration. This second aspect is the chlorine free production of fertilizer, a harmful compound which produces increased salinization of soils.
The undertaking will also contribute to the National Fertilizer Plan (Plano Nacional de Fertilizantes, PNF), which was officially launched on March 11. The PNF expects an increase in local fertilizer production by 2050, including actions such as new technologies, the use of mineral inputs, as well as maintaining sustainability policies. The plan should compensate the current imbalance, since more than 85% of the fertilizers used in the country are imported, emphasizing the high level of dependency on imports in a market which is dominated by only a few suppliers. This dependency makes the Brazilian economy, which leans heavily on agribusiness, vulnerable to any fluctuations of the international fertilizer market.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Brazil occupies the 4th position worldwide with approximately 8% of the global fertilizer consumption, where potassium is the main nutrient used by national producers (38%). After potassium, phosphorus comprises 33% of the total fertilizer consumption, followed by nitrogen, with 29%. Together, these three elements form the abbreviation NPK, widely used in the rural setting. Among the cultures which mostly demand the use of fertilizers are soybean, corn and sugar cane, totalling over 73% of the national consumption.
Today, Metso Outotec has a team of specialists in the fertilizer market, which acts directly together with the main producers, discussing the most sustainable solutions, technologies and supporting projects for new plants or the expansion of existing operations. Furthermore, Metso Outotec offers a service business model where companies don´t need to invest in new operations. Instead, they just define their productions objectives and Metso Outotec acts as a service provider, managing the whole process, providing for equipment, labor and, finally, delivery and production according to the established production goals.