Phosphoric Acid Production

Today, phosphoric acid producers face significant challenges in the areas of environmental compliance, chemical efficiency, plant productivity and product quality improvement. ArrMaz has developed a broad range of chemical technologies to help phosphoric acid producers overcome each of these challenges efficiently and cost-effectively.

Environmental Compliance

Compliance with increasingly complex environmental regulations is an ongoing challenge for the industry. Phosphoric acid producers are under constant pressure to eliminate all visual emissions from their processes, maintain strict control of exhaust gases from scrubbers systems, and avoid recycling contaminated wastewater in Bevill-excluded processes. To help producers meet these requirements, ArrMaz’s custom-formulated defoamers have the capacity to lower reactor levels, reduce foam that can carry over into exhaust gas scrubbers, and stop reactor overflows that result from upset conditions.

Chemical Efficiency

In most parts of the world, the quality of phosphate deposits is diminishing due to the presence of increased mineral impurities. Such impurities along with liberated dissolved gases interfere with the normal chemical reactions that take place in the phosphoric acid reactor. ArrMaz defoamers significantly reduce the amount of gas that can exist in the space between reactants, thereby providing a crystal habitat that is more conducive to good crystal formation and growth.

Plant Productivity

In many phosphoric acid plants, the primary rate limiting factor to improving phosphoric acid production rates is the ability to vacuum filter sufficient volumes of acid through the calcium sulfate cake on the plant filter. ArrMaz provides filtration aids that can increase the speed at which the acid is filtered through the cake, resulting in significant increases in overall plant production. Each plant has its own operating challenges and therefore will have varying goals for potential improvement. Our filtration aids have been documented to increase plant production rates by improving filter throughput and effectiveness.

Phosphoric Acid Quality

For phosphoric acid to be considered suitable for the production of concentrated fertilizers, the level of impurities in the acid must be fairly low. This is often impossible to achieve in phosphoric acid operations due to the solubility of some of the impurities. In order to improve acid quality, it is necessary to “clarify” the finished acid by aging and cooling the acid in solid / liquid separation equipment. ArrMaz provides clarification aids that greatly increase the settling and removal rate of impurities in the acid, yielding acid of sufficient quality to produce world class fertilizers.