Application of life cycle assessment to the case studies of new nitrogen fertiliser production

The aim of this study is to use the LCA tool to investigate the energy balance and environmental impact of nitrogen fertiliser production using natural gas. The energy requirements and GHG emissions were compared with the values which one finds in the BAT to explore the environmental performance of the fertiliser integrated plant located in Algeria. Five impact categories were selected for the study. The system boundaries were defined for a 'cradle to gate' approach. The sulfazot, as new nitrogen fertiliser, comprises the upstream stages. The results showed that the production of a tonne of sulfazot requires 142 M3 of water and 95 MJ of natural gas. The natural gas combustion contributes with global warming by formation of greenhouse gases, which is about 12.29 T CO2 equivalent/FU, and the cumulated energy requirement is 178.4 GJ/T of Sulfazot.