Shell and Sandvik produce granulated Urea + elemental Sulphur Fertiliser
Shell and Sandvik have successfully granulated urea + elemental sulphur fertiliser produced with Shell Urea-ES technology, using Sandvik’s Rotoform granulation system.
Building on years of joint experience in the field of sulphur granulation, Sandvik and Shell joined forces and successfully demonstrated the integration of the Shell Thiogro Urea-ES technology and Sandvik Rotoform equipment during a series of continuous plant trials at Sandvik’s productivity centre in Fellbach (Germany). Shell’s unique technology and the versatility of the Sandvik equipment enabled the production of Shell Urea-ES granules containing up to 70% of finely dispersed elemental sulphur in a urea matrix.
In the Sandvik Rotoform System, the homogeneous Shell Urea-ES emulsion is fed to the unit and deposited in the form of drops (diameter of 2-4 mm) across a steel belt cooler. Water is sprayed against the underside of the solid steel belt (ensuring no cross contamination either to product or to water. As the product moves along the steel belt, the liquid droplets are converted into solid pastilles. The final solid product is collected at the end of the belt and sent to the downstream handling system (conveying, storage silo, bagging, etc.).
“We are pleased to collaborate with Sandvik to granulate our new Shell Urea-ES technology products on their robust Rotoform equipment. With this success, more and more fertiliser producers can granulate our urea + elemental sulphur fertiliser to potentially unlock better crop yields and improve soil health,” said Michael Lumley, Vice President of Shell Sulphur Solutions.
Shell has collaborated with key players in granulation technologies in order to develop solutions for owners of small to medium-sized granulation plants and believes Sandvik’s standalone Rotoform granulation equipment provides a fully fit for purpose system to undertake product diversification at fertiliser production sites.
“We believe specialty fertilisers are the future, as they promise not only a win-win situation for both farmers and fertiliser producers, but also contribute to a better environment through effective fertiliser applications. Sandvik offers versatile Rotoform system to manage various formulations. Our collaboration with Shell for the Urea Elemental Sulphur has been a rewarding partnership,” said Johan Sjögren, Managing Director of Sandvik Process Systems.
One standard Rotoform High Speed unit can produce up to 150 MTPD of Shell Urea-ES granules, perfect for customers looking for diversification to speciality fertilisers, yet more lines can be easily installed in parallel to multiply the capacity.
To support industrial deployment, Sandvik and Shell are finalising their combined design to support installation in greenfield and brownfield projects, which will allow current and new Rotoform owners to expand their product portfolio by enabling the production of Shell Urea-ES fertiliser.
Notes to editors
- For over a decade, Shell, through its suite of Thiogro technologies, has supported the fertiliser industry by developing safe and efficient means of incorporating sulphur into fertilisers to produce sulphur enhanced ammonium phosphate, sulphur enhanced triple superphosphate and most recently, sulphur enhanced urea fertilisers.
- Sandvik has supplied over 2000 granulation systems worldwide, used within a number of industries including the sulphur and the fertiliser industries. With increasing demand for products containing elemental sulphur, Sandvik has sought technology partners to broaden the range of fertiliser products that can be granulated using Rotoform. Sandvik concluded that it provided a safe, reliable and flexible means of answering a key challenge of the nitrogen fertiliser industry, namely the production of sulphur enhanced urea fertiliser.
Media Enquiries
Sandvik Process Systems:
Steven Sutanto
+ 49 711 5105 306
steven.sutanto@sandvik.com
Shell Sulphur Solutions:
Oliver Lim
+ 65 6477 7499
o.lim@shell.com
About Sandvik Process Systems:
Sandvik Process Systems partnership with Chemical industries extends back more than 50 years. It is a market leader in the design, engineering, and installation of solidification and material handling solution for wide range of products. Part of Sandvik group, a business active in more than 130 countries, Sandvik Process Systems combine the responsiveness and customer focus of a medium-sized company with the strength and stability of a global engineering group.
Shell Urea-ES Technology
Shell Urea-ES technology seeks to provide vital sulphur nutrients to soils by enabling urea producers to incorporate micron-sized elemental sulphur particles into urea. Unlike sulphur coatings for which the nutrient value of the coating is challenged, the micronised nature of the sulphur in Urea-ES (< 40um) enables its fast oxidation and provides sulphur nutrients to plants in the year of application, and supports farmers to unlock higher crop yields and improve soil health.
Shell Thiogro technologies
Shell Thiogro technologies help to enable fertiliser producers to safely incorporate micron-sized particles of elemental sulphur into the world’s most widely-used fertilisers, including MAP, DAP, TSP and urea. The fine elemental sulphur particle size promotes the oxidation of the sulphur within the crop season. Shell Thiogro technologies have been licensed and installed in fertiliser plants in Asia, North America and Australia. Shell Thiogro is part of Shell Sulphur Solutions, Shell’s dedicated business for managing the complete sulphur value chain.
Cautionary note
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