Ammonia flow analysis in the domestic fertilizer industry of South Korea

In this study, an ammonia flow analysis that presents how ammonia is used or handled in the South Korean fertilizer industry is developed using material flow analysis concepts. Due to increasing concerns related to ammonia-related accident cases and human health and toxicity impacts in the country, an ammonia flow analysis is presented in this study. Ammonia data were collected from several data sources, such as the National Statistical Office of South Korea and the 2019 edition of the fertilizer yearbook, published by the Korean Fertilizer Association. The results show that 1,840,000 tons of ammonia were used or handled in domestic manufacturing. Furthermore, the total amount of ammonia used in the fertilizer industry, including 504,000 tons in the manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds, amounts to 757,000 tons. The amount of ammonia in the import and production of fertilizer and the past stock is inversely estimated utilizing the process of manufacture and LCI data. The amounts have been concluded to be 565,000 (508,000–621,000) tons of urea, 1420 (1279–1563) tons of ammonium sulfate/ammonium nitrate, and 981,000 tons of composite fertilizer, which were found to be used or handled in the export, agriculture, industry, stock, and raw materials. The developed ammonia flow analysis contributes to increased safety measures in industries that utilize significant amounts of ammonia and other chemicals responsible for industrial injuries and deaths, such as carbon monoxide, chlorine, hydrochloric acid, and sulfuric acid. Furthermore, due to ammonia’s high toxicity levels towards animals and plants and damages to human respiratory systems, the presented analysis can be a critical part of minimizing these impacts. And finally, while the geographic scope is limited to South Korea, the study is applicable to and replicable in other regional scopes, especially those that experience significant human health impacts related to ammonia. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].