Itafos has commenced technical studies related to Itafos Conda organic growth projects, including anhydrous hydrogen fluoride and precipitated silica (AHF/PS) by-product recovery and on-site ammonia production, as part of the company’s strategic focus on optimising Itafos Conda’s EBITDA generation capability. The company expects to provide a further update on the respective technical studies by 1Q21.
The AHF/PS by-product recovery initiative aims at improving Itafos Conda’s EBITDA generation capability by extracting and commercialising high-value by-products AHF and PS without impacting Itafos Conda’s manufacturing process. The initiative contemplates the extraction of fluoride, in the form of silico-fluoride, from the tailings pond water at Itafos Conda via continuous ion exchange (CIX) and conversion to AHF and PS considering a patented process. To advance the development of the initiative, the company has engaged leading third parties to conduct pilot plant testing and complete a FEED study, which is expected to be completed over an 18-month timeframe. The next milestone in advancing the development of the initiative is concentrating silico-fluoride via CIX at pilot scale, which is expected to be completed by 2Q21.
The on-site ammonia production initiative aims at improving Itafos Conda’s EBITDA generation capability by reducing the cost and stabilising the supply of ammonia to Itafos Conda by producing ammonia on-site to meet Itafos Conda’s fertilizer production requirements and commercialising any excess production. The initiative contemplates the installation of a skid-mounted, small-scale ammonia plant at Itafos Conda using natural gas as feedstock. The initiative is expected to rely upon mature Haber-Bosch technology, recently made viable at small scale due to flexible steam-methane reforming and skid-mounted ammonia synthesis, and to leverage the existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure at Itafos Conda. To advance the development of the initiative, the company has engaged a leading third party to complete a feasibility study, which is expected to be completed by 1Q21.