Producción De Fertilizantes De Potasio

Potassium Fertilizer Production and Technology

Potassium Cycles through Complicated Ecosystems to Sustain Plant and Animal Life

Potassium Is Essential for Plants
• Taken up by the plant asK+ • Does not form organic compounds in the plant • Is vital to photosynthesis and protein synthesis • Is associated with many metabolic functions

• Essential role for regulating leaf stomata andcontrolling water use

Potassium and Animal Nutrition
• Potassium is essential for many metabolic functions • It maintains salt balance between cells and body fluids • Adequate K is essential fornerve function and preventing muscle cramps • It is routinely added to many animal feeds

Since K+ is not stored in the human body, dietary replacement is required on a regular basis. Governmentagencies state that: …diets containing foods that are good sources of potassium and low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.

The History of Potash
Element symbol K comesfrom Latin Kalium Allow trees to bioaccumulate K and boil wood ash to recover nutrients… Wood ash boiled in pots (pot-ash) Not a sustainable practice

Potassium Fertilizer Is Mined and Produced inMany Parts of The World

Many other deposits are located throughout the world (size of dot proportional to production in 2009)

Where Does Potash Come From?
All commercial potash deposits comefrom marine sources: 1. Ancient seas that are now buried 2. Salt water brines

Some Common Potassium-Containing Minerals
Mineral Chlorides: Sylvinite Sylvite Carnalite Kainite Sulfates: PolyhaliteLangbeinite Schoenite Nitrates: Niter Composition K2O content (approx %) 28 63 17 18

KClNaCl KCl KClMgCl26H2O 4KCl4MgSO411H2O K2SO42MgSO42CaSO42H2O K2SO42MgSO4 K2SO4MgSO44H2O KNO3

15 2223

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Potash Is Obtained By:

• Shaft mining • Solution mining

Most potash deposits are too deep underground for surface mining

• Evaporation of brines

Water bodies such as the...