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Land Contamination
Published in Daniel T. Rogers, Environmental Compliance Handbook, 2023
Fertilizers are chemical compounds designed to promote plant and fruit growth when applied (USEPA 2021b). The most common fertilizers are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Nitrogen is found primarily in an organic form in soils but can also occur as nitrate. Because nitrate is very soluble and mobile, it is transported by surface water to rivers, lakes, and streams, where it can promote algal growth. In many cases, the algal growth is extensive. Nitrate can also contaminate drinking water. Phosphorus occurs in soil in organic and inorganic forms but, being more soluble than nitrate, can also be depleted in soil through surface water runoff. Phosphorus can also promote algal growth in rivers, lakes, and streams, because it is a limiting nutrient in fresh water. Potassium (K) in fertilizers is commonly incorporated as potash—an oxide form of potassium that includes the compounds potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate, and potassium carbonate. The term “potash” comes from the historical practice of extracting potassium carbonate (K2CO3) by leaching wood ashes and evaporating the solution in large iron pots. Fertilizers containing potassium generally do not promote algal growth (USEPA 2021b).
Mining Methods Vary Widely
Published in Karlheinz Spitz, John Trudinger, Mining and the Environment, 2019
Karlheinz Spitz, John Trudinger
Chemical and fertilizer minerals include potash and phosphate rock. Potash, a term that describes minerals containing potassium compounds, is used in fertilizers. Processing potash involves mixing crushed potash ore with brine which is saturated with potassium chloride and sodium chloride. Flotation, crystallization, or heavy media separation methods are then used to recover potassium-bearing compounds from the saturated solution.
Kinetic and thermodynamic study of potassium recovery from silicate rocks
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy, 2022
Himanshu Tanvar, Nikhil Dhawan
Fertilisers provide the major plant nutrients for their growth and enrichment, and hence the global agriculture output depends somehow on the fertiliser production. Plant nutrients mainly consist of three major elements namely nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N, P, and K), and are mostly provided by fertilisers manufactured from mined materials. The Haber–Bosch process fulfils the world's N demand, and apatite family of minerals for P demand (Smil 2000; Manning 2018). Potash rocks satisfies the K demand for plants which are mined and refined from underground ore deposits (sylvite, carnallite), salt lakes and brines (Wang et al. 2014). In Saskatchewan, Canada, most of the thick high-grade deposits are located 900 metres below the surface and are easy to mine. Solution mining is one of a prime method for the extraction of potash from underground deposits situated too deep for conventional mining. Another way of mining potash is through evaporation of water from salt lakes and surface brines to recover potash salts. This technique is used at the Great Salt Lake and Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, in Searles Lake in California, USA and Israel and Jordan at the Dead Sea (Better Crops/Vol. 82 1998). Other than use in fertilisers, chloride and nitrate salt of K are widely used in manufacturing of soap, ceramics, glass, synthetic rubber, pharmaceutics, and chemicals. KNO3 is used in production of explosives as well (IBM 2018).
Benefits realized and lessons learned from modeling the production capacity of the Jansen Potash Project
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2020
BHP, one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore, copper, oil and gas, and coal, intends to build a potash business starting with the Jansen Project in Saskatchewan, Canada. Potash is a plant fertilizer comprising potassium compounds, such as potassium chloride (KCl) and potassium sulfate (K2SO4). Potassium is essential for plant nutrition and has no natural or artificial substitute. The demand for potash is increasing as the world population grows, diets are changing, and agriculture becomes more densified.
Stochastic Optimization of the Jansen Potash Production and Logistics Chain
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2019
Sylvie C. Bouffard, Peter Boggis
The company BHP, one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore, copper, oil & gas, and coal, intends to build a potash business starting with the Jansen project in Saskatchewan, Canada. Potash is a plant fertilizer comprising potassium compounds, such as potassium chloride (KCl) or potassium sulfate (K2SO4). Potassium is essential for plant nutrition and has no natural substitute. The demand for potash is increasing as the world population grows and diets are changing.