Corrosion remains a significant challenge in the fertilizer industry, primarily due to the corrosive nature of raw materials, leading to potential downtimes and financial losses. Various types of corrosion, including active, intergranular, and galvanic corrosion, impact equipment longevity and can cause operational failures. It is recommended that manufacturers enhance inspection methodologies and compile existing corrosion data to better manage these risks.

1. Corrosion in Fertilizer industry
CourseTitle: Corrosion
Engineering
Name: Shaikh Ashraful Alam
Applied Chemistry & Chemical
Engineering

2. Corrosion in Fertilizer industry
o Corrosion has continued to be a major concern for manufacturers of
fertilizers due to corrosive nature of raw materials used in the
production process.
o Industry runs high risk of encountering un-foreseen downtimes due to
damage caused by corrosion and result in heavy losses to the fertilizer
manufacturers.

3. o Active corrosion is one of the most common forms of corrosion that can be
prevented by exposing SS to carbamate solutions and passivated by the design
amount of oxygen, else SS suffers severe thinning thus reducing longevity of the
equipment
o Erosion corrosion.
o Inter Granular Corrosion (IGC)is due to oxidizing action of oxygen containing urea
carbamate solution, a low NH3/CO2ratio and segregation of impurities in
sensitized SS.
o Any chloride ingress in the shell side of the stripper/carbamate condenser will
initiate Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) on austenitic SS tubes, whereas duplex SS
material resists SCC.
o Galvanic corrosion occurs in intercooler and after cooler of CO2 gas cleaning
circuit , which in some cases have resulted in shutdown of the plant within six
months.
What type of corrosion occur in Fertilizer industry? Basis Urea mfg

4. How corrosion occur in fertilizer industry
Acid Attacks
o Phosphoric Acid
o Nitro-phosphoric Acid
o Nitric Acid
Others
o Potassium and chlorine deposits
o Microbial Induced Corrosion
o Urea Ammonium Nitrate
o Aqueous Amine Solutions

5. In March 2000 in
Ohio, USA a tank
leak…..
Quickly resulted in complete tank
collapse…….
And a “river of fertilizer flowed through
Main Street”
Corrosion: occurs disaster in fertilizer industry

6. Recommendations
.oFertilizer manufacturers should develop methodology to maintain and
optimise inspection programs for high corrosion risk to fertilizer plant
equipment.
oThere is a need to compile the available data on corrosion in fertilizer
industry since there is very limited data available.