FERTILIZERS INDUSTRY
SUBMITTED TO
Prof.JAYAMOHAN NAIR
ASSIGNMENT SUBMITTED BY
SREEJA.S.S
INTRODUCTION
• Fertilizers are chemical compounds applied to promote plant and fruit growth. Fertilizers are usually applied either through the soil (for uptake by plant roots) or, by foliar feeding (for uptake through leaves).
• Fertilizers can be placed into the categories of organic fertilizers (composed of decayed plant/animal matter), or inorganic fertilizers (composed of simple chemicals and minerals)
• .Organic fertilizers are 'naturally' occurring compounds, such as peat, manufactured through natural processes (such as composting), or naturally occurring mineral deposits
• Inorganic fertilizers are manufactured through chemical processes (such as the Haber process), also using naturally occurring deposits, while chemically altering them (e.g. concentrated triple superphosphate Properly applied, organic fertilizers can improve the health and productivity of soil and plants, as they provide different essential nutrients to encourage plant growth.
Organic nutrients increase the abundance of soil organisms by providing organic matter and micronutrients for organisms such as fungal mycorrhiza, which aid plants in absorbing nutrients
Chemical Content
• Fertilizers typically provide, in varying proportions, the three major plant nutrients:
• nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium known shorthand as N-P-K); the secondary plant nutrients (calcium, sulfur, magnesium) and sometimes trace elements (or micronutrients) with a role in plant or animal nutrition: boron, chlorine, manganese, iron, zinc, copper, molybdenum and (in some countries) selenium
• INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT OF FERTILIZERS
• How is cadmium is produced industrially?
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Cadmium is produced mainly as a by-product of mining, smelting and refining of zinc and, to a lesser degree, as a by-product of lead and copper production. It is therefore primarily a function of zinc production rather than cadmium demand.
Major shifts in smelting and refining technology (from pyrometallurgical to hydrometallurgical processes) have led to significant decreases in releases of cadmium to the environment.
Cadmium is used and traded globally as a metal and as a component in various products, in particular in batteries until it was banned in a number of countries.
Other major uses of refined cadmium are:
• pigments for plastics,
• ceramics and enamels;
• stabilizers for plastics;
• plating on iron and steel; and
• alloying element of some lead, copper and tin alloys.
Since 1990, the consumption of such products has been decreasing significantly because of the awareness of the detrimental impacts on health and the environment.
Waste management systems have increasingly been put in place in industrialized countries to reduce releases of cadmium into the environment. However, some of the uses of cadmium which have been phased out in developed countries have continued or even increased in developing countries
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INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY
This leads to the rise of very large cities and surrounding suburban areas with a high rate of economic activity.
• These urban centers require the input of external energy sources in order to overcome the diminishing returns of agricultural consolidation, due partially to the lack of nearby arable land, associated transportation and storage costs, and are otherwise unsustainable. Industrial societies are generally mass societies.
• Industrial society is characterized by the use of external energy sources, such as fossil fuels, to increase the rate and scale of production The production of food is shifted to large commercial farms where the products of industry, such as combine harvesters and petroleum based fertilizers, are used to decrease required human labor while increasing production.
• No longer needed for the production of food, excess labor is moved into these factories where mechanization is utilized to further increase efficiency.
• As populations grow, and mechanization is further refined, often to the level of automation, many workers shift to expanding service industries.
• Industrial society makes urbanization desirable, in part so that workers can be closer to centers of production, and the service industry can provide labor to workers and those that benefit financially from them, in exchange for a piece of production profits with which they can buy goods.makes the reliable availability of the needed energy resources high priority in industrial government policies.
MAJOR PRACTICES IN AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY
• Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants (i.e. crops) creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and stratified societies. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science (the related practice of gardening is studied in horticulture).
• Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialties and techniques, including ways to expand the lands suitable for plant raising, by digging water-channels and other forms of irrigation. Cultivation of crops on arable land and the pastoral herding of livestock on rangeland remain at the foundation of agriculture. In the past century there has been increasing concern to identify and quantify various forms of agriculture. In the developed world the range usually extends between sustainable agriculture (e.g. permaculture or organic agriculture) and intensive farming (e.g. industrial agriculture).
• Modern agronomy, plant breeding, pesticides and fertilizers, and technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation, and at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects.[ Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry such as intensive pig farming (and similar practices applied to the chicken) have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about animal cruelty and the health effects of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production]
• The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, raw materials, pharmaceuticals and stimulants, and an assortment of ornamental or exotic panget products. In the 2000s, plants have been used to grow biofuels, biopharmaceuticals, bioplastics, and pharmaceuticals. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, and meat. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo. Stimulants include tobacco, alcohol, opium, cocaine,and digitalis. Other useful materials are produced by plants, such as resins. Biofuels include methane from biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel. Cut flowers, nursery plants, tropical fish and birds for the pet trade are some of the ornamental products.
In 2007, about one third of the world's workers were employed in agriculture. However, the relative significance of farming has dropped steadily since the beginning of industrialization, and in 2003 – for the first time in history – the services sector overtook agriculture as the economic sector employing the most people worldwide.
Production practices
Road leading across the farm allows machinery access to the farm for production practices.
• Tillage is the practice of plowing soil to prepare for planting or for nutrient incorporation or for pest control. Tillage varies in intensity from conventional to no-till. It may improve productivity by warming the soil, incorporating fertilizer and controlling weeds, but also renders soil more prone to erosion, triggers the decomposition of organic matter releasing CO2, and reduces the abundance and diversity of soil organisms
• . Pest control includes the management of weeds, insects/mites, and diseases. Chemical (pesticides), biological (biocontrol), mechanical (tillage), and cultural practices are used. Cultural practices include crop rotation, culling, cover crops, intercropping, composting, avoidance, and resistance. Integrated pest management attempts to use all of these methods to keep pest populations below the number which would cause economic loss, and recommends pesticides as a last resort
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• Nutrient management includes both the source of nutrient inputs for crop and livestock production, and the method of utilization of manure produced by livestock. Nutrient inputs can be chemical inorganic fertilizers, manure, green manure, compost and mined minerals Crop nutrient use may also be managed using cultural techniques such as crop rotation or a fallow period Manure is utilized either by holding livestock where the feed crop is growing such as in Managed intensive rotational grazing, or by spreading either dry or liquid formulations of manure on cropland or pastures.
• Water management is where rainfall is insufficient or variable, which occurs to some degree in most regions of the world Some farmers use irrigation to supplement rainfall. In other areas such as the Great Plains in the U.S. and Canada, farmers use a fallow year to conserve soil moisture to use for growing a crop in the following year. Agriculture represents 70% of freshwater use worldwide
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Processing, distribution, and marketing
In the United States, food costs attributed to processing, distribution, and marketing have risen while the costs attributed to farming have declined. From 1960 to 1980 the farm share was around 40%, but by 1990 it had declined to 30% and by 1998, 22.2%. Market concentration has increased in the sector as well, with the top 20 food manufacturers accounting for half the food-processing value in 1995, over double that produced in 1954. As of 2000 the top 6 supermarkets had 50% of sales compared to 32% in 1992. Although the total effect of the increased market concentration is likely increased efficiency, the changes redistribute economic surplus from producers (farmers) and consumers, and may have negative implication
The role of the fertilizer industry
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The fertilizer industry helps ensure that farmers have the nutrients they need to grow enough crops to meet the world's requirements for food, feed, fibre and energy. The n utrients supplied by the industry
• The fertilizer industry encourages the adoption of Fertilizer Best Management Practices (FBMPs) as part of good agricultural practices.
For efficient soil management, a farmer must improve desirable soil characteristics using good agricultural practices. To ensure sustainability and high productivity, these practices should be:
• technically sound
• economically attractive
• environmentally safe
• feasible in practice
• socially acceptable
The most important components of good agricultural practices are:
• choosing high-quality, high-yield seed
• choosing the best time to sow and appropriate methods, with optimum seed rate and plant population
• choosing appropriate fertilizers with balanced rates, methods and times of application
• replenishing organic matter
• maintaining appropriate soil reaction (pH)
• controling insect pests and diseases with appropriate measures
• controling weeds and soil erosion
• providing irrigation and drainage
• adopting appropriate management practices
Future trends in this industry
fertilizer technology may be predicted by extrapolating from current developments. Mixtures and materials with high percentages of plant nutrients will dominate the field. Better ways of providing nitrogen, the most expensive of the three major nutrients, will be forthcoming, including increased use of anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, and urea. Nonleachable nitrogen, for example, can be obtained through the urea–formaldehyde (ureaform) reaction, and ammonium metaphosphate
offers a concentrated liquid product. Micronutrients, or trace elements, specific to particular geographical areas will come into increasing use, as will custom mixing and bulk selling of mixtures containing several nutrients based on reliable soil and plant data.
• may come into use; with the tape planted, no further fertilizer or water will be needed until growth is well established. Such techniques using biodegradable tapes have already been developed on a small scale for use by home gardeners. Finally, larger and more precise fertilizing machines will be developed and adopted.
The fertilizer sector in India holds a major share among the energy intensive industries of the country. The industry has shown unparalleled growth in the past few years. Although growing in an accelerating rate, the industry is faced with a number of challenges, inter alia, the lack of major plant resources such as nitrogen, phosphate and potassium
. Notwithstanding these specificities, India produces both nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilizers in the domestic market. Urea and ammonium are the two popularly manufactured nitrogenous fertilizers in India. The various companies dedicated to the manufacture of fertilizers also produce straight phosphatic fertilizers such as single super phosphate and complex fertilizers such as di-ammonium phosphate or DAP.
The lack of indigenous reserves of potash in India has stunted the production of potassic fertilizers in the country. .
• The government has established nine public sector undertakings in the Indian fertilizer market and one cooperative society, known as the Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) that functions under the supervision of the Department of Fertilizers in India. There are 63 large units dedicated to the production of fertilizers. Among these, 9 units produce ammonium sulphate while 38 units produce urea. There are 79 small and medium scale units producing single superphosphate.
• The public sector companies in Indian fertilizer market are listed below:
• Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL) Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited (HFC) Pyrites, Phosphates & Chemicals Limited Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCF) National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) Projects &Development India Limited (PDIL) The Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) Madras Fertilizers Limited (MFL) FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals India Limited, Jodhpur
Along with the public sector units, there has been a euphoric growth in the production of fertilizers in the private sector as well. Some of the companies dedicated to the production of fertilizers include Khaitan Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, Managalore Chemicals, Nagarjuna Fertilizers, Zauri Chambal, BEC Fertilizers and Gujarat State Fertilizers &Chemicals Limited.
The fertilizer industry in India shows an upward rising trend that would challenge the broader market in future years. With an outstanding investment of Rs. 20, 677 Crore in the September, 2007 quarter, the sector will witness burgeoning production that will reach new heights in the coming years. Most of the companies are expecting an approval for their huge capital expenditure plans from the Department of Fertilizers in India. The flourishing industry will fill in the gap between demand and supply of fertilizers in India
CONCLUSION
Planning and Administration and Vigilance. It makes an assessment of the individual requirements of the states and union territories and then lays out an elaborate supply plan.
Though the soil in India is rich in silt, it lacks chief plant nutrients like potassium, nitrogen and phosphate. The increase in the production of fertilizers and its consumption acts as a major contributor to overall agricultural development.
• Size of Indian Fertilizer Industry
• Growth of Indian Fertilizer industry
• Global Demand for Indian Fertilizer
• Government Policies and Indian Fertilizer Industry
• Private Companies in Indian Fertilizer Market
• Public Sector Companies in Indian Fertilizer Market
• Major Players in Indian Fertilizer Market
• Challenges before Indian Fertilizer Industry
• Concluding remarks on Indian Fertilizer Industry
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