NDRC Regulates Phosphate Industry Development

The 2011 edition Guiding Catalog of Industrial Structure Adjustment (the Guiding Catalog 2011), released by National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) ofChina, effectively regulatesChina’s phosphate industry.
The Guiding Catalog 2011 divides all industries into different types of encouraged, restricted and eliminated. Among the encouraged industries, NDRC’s encouragements are:
– exploiting and utilizing low grade phosphorus ore and its associated ores;
– full heat recovery thermal phosphoric acid production;
– setting up large-scale production line of calcium phosphate with defluorination device;
– comprehensive ardealite utilization and wet phosphoric acid purification device with capacity above 100,000t/a;
Besides, NDRC also encourages phosphoric acid iron battery materials. Meanwhile, NDRC restricts the development of some phosphate chemicals with characters of overcapacity, high energy consumption and heavy environmental pollution. The restricted type related to phosphate industry includes:
– new sulfuric acid production lines with unit production capacity below 300,000t/a (sulfur burning process) and 200,000t/a (pyrite-based process);
– new plants of STPP, PCl3, P2S5, feed grade calcium hydrogen phosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, etc.;
– new production line of yellow phosphorus with unit capacity below 30,000t/a;
– new production device of ammonium phosphate fertilizer;
– new production lines of glyphosate, triazophos.
The eliminated types related to phosphate chemicals are some inefficient capacity includes unit production capacity that is below 100,000t/a (both sulfur burning and pyrite-based); unit capacity below 5,000t/a and the devices which can not meet the requirements listed in Entry Criteria; unit capacity below 10,000t/a (STPP), 5,000t/a (sodium hexametaphosphate), 5,000t/a (PCl3) and 30,000t/a (feed grade calcium hydrogen phosphate).