OCP Group‘s third integrated fertilizer production plant, Jorf Fertilizers Company 3 (JFC 3), which required an investment of MAD 5.2 billion, is now fully operational at the Jorf Lasfar industrial platform. The facility is to reinforce the production capacity of the group, which will become in 2018 the world’s largest fertilizer exporter.

Inaugurated in March 2017, the JFC 3 unit reached its nominal production capacity in October. This fertilizer plant has a capacity of 1 million tonnes per year and will significantly increase the group’s overall production capacity, which is set to reach 12 million tonnes per year in 2018 with JFC 4 coming on stream.

A well spent MAD 5.2 billion, this investment adds to the production facilities of the OCP chemical platform of Jorf Lasfar, which is the largest fertilizer complex in the world.

In detail, JFC 3 also includes a sulfuric acid line with a capacity of 1.4 million tonnes per year, as well as a phosphoric acid line of 450,000 tonnes per year. The chemical reactions involved in the production of these acids are exothermic and, for the sake of optimization, the heat released is recovered to power a thermoelectric power plant with a power of 62 MW – which makes JFC 3 completely autonomous in terms of energy consumption.

Always with autonomy in mind, JFC 3 has storage facilities with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes of fertilizer, equivalent to more than two months of reserves.

For his part, JFC 3 director Ahmed Mahrou said the skills acquired by OCP Group for several years and the progress made in the design of the production units have allowed this new plant to achieve “the best environmental performance of the Group, by reducing the SO2 (sulfur dioxide) content at the sulfuric stack, treating wastewater before discharge and reducing the discharge of fluoride into the sea.”

“Integrating several technological innovations, JFC 3 reinforces OCP Group’s international strategic positioning, while meeting the demand of foreign customers,” he said. “The Group makes major green investments every year, particularly to promote the economy of water and energy resources, with a view to mitigating the environmental impact of its activities along the value chain.”