Veolia Water Technologies (www.veoliawatertech.com) will provide a processing plant integrating HPD crystallization systems designed to extract high-quality potash fertilizer from the brines of the Dead Sea.
Population growth, rising incomes and the need for increased fresh food production are expanding the frontiers to grow crops into increasingly arid areas around the world. This force is driving the demand for water-soluble fertilizer products for use in horticulture with precision irrigation, a modern technique also known as fertigation which delivers water and nutrients in exact quantities conserving resources and maximizing yields. World-leading potash producers are well-positioned to grow the exports of these specialty products into regional and international markets such as India and China.
To meet this increased demand, a major producer of potash in the Middle East is slated to raise production to almost 1.5 million tons per year of potash extracted from carnallite, a mixture of magnesium chloride and potassium chloride pumped from the Dead Sea and evaporated in solar ponds before undertaking a refining process. As part of this contract to modernize a refinery on the southern shores of the Dead Sea, Veolia will replace existing crystallizers with new HPD crystallization technologies to better process the carnallite feedstock and extract water-soluble potash fertilizer. To make the plant more efficient and energy-saving, Veolia’s solution includes upgraded barometric condensers designed to handle the vapors generated in the new crystallizers.