FINFuture - Flexible Inputs for Nitrophosphate fertilizers production in the Future scenario

Yara is one of the world's largest producers of compound (NPK) fertilizers, producing annually 6.5 million tonnes of product which comprises ~20% of the market share of European NPK fertilizers. The quality of the phosphate rocks used as raw materials can vary significantly, and to ensure a robust production process it is critical for the process to be able to handle different types of phosphate rocks. The primary challenge with poorer quality rocks is the thickening of the process liquors, which can completely stop production. It is not fully understood why the process liquors become so thick and viscous where it cannot flow anymore, and why this occurs so spontaneously, but it is known that this is related to the presence of different metal and fluorine impurities in the rocks. The goals of the FINFuture project are to investigate and identify the root causes and mechanisms responsible for thickening when using poorer quality phosphate rocks, and to develop methods to mitigate this phenomenon. A successful mitigation method can enable increased production of NPK fertilizers using a wider variety of phosphate rocks that could not be used previously. The increased flexibility of raw materials available for the production of NPK fertilizers will not only ensure our food security in the future, but also contribute to reduced environmental emissions and increased strategic independence in the sourcing of raw materials. The latter is critical given the recent geopolitical changes in the phosphate supply chain and market.

Yara is one of the world's largest producers of NPK fertilizers producing ~6.5 million tonnes annually. Disruptions created in the phosphate raw material supply chain due to the invasion of Ukraine has decreased the availability of high quality phosphates, making production dependent on low-quality phosphates. To maintain this level of production using lower quality phosphates, the nitrophosphate process used for production of NPK fertilizers must be transformed through process innovation built on new knowledge from R&D. The two major economic-political motivations for this project are to (1) increase the diversity of phosphate raw material sources and (2) react faster to geopolitical changes in phosphate raw material supply chain and market. Both motivations are to ensure consistent fertilizer supply for efficient food production for the society. The project therefore contributes to the UN sustainability goals, Norwegian Mineral Strategy (2023) and the European Critical Raw Materials Act (2024). The FINFuture project will develop innovative methods to mitigate the challenges experienced with lower quality raw materials, primarily thickening of process liquors. This requires a deeper scientific understanding of the mineralogy of the rocks - a link between the mineralogy to the process chemistry is critical for identifying the root causes of thickening, and for developing methods to mitigate it. Several approaches for mitigation will be tested and evaluated at both laboratory and pilot scale. The feasibility of the most successful methods for scale-up to plant scale will be evaluated. The implementation of these process innovations will increase strategic independence in the sourcing of phosphates, increase process robustness, reduce unplanned downtime, and decrease the environmental footprint. The project will be a collaboration with the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) and the Natural History Museum (NHM) in Oslo, who will both participate as R&D partners.