
ADAMA opens new chloralkali facility to keep up with global folpet demand

The new facility, which represents an investment of tens of millions of dollars, not only safeguards global folpet supplies by enhancing the company’s chlorine production capacity, but is also a significant step forwards in reducing the company’s environmental impact.
The new manufacturing plant, which has been under construction since 2021, will supply essential components for two of ADAMA’s key active ingredients: captan, a leading fungicide for the control of apple scab; and folpet, a unique multi-site fungicide that provides valuable protection against key diseases in wheat and barley.
“The new multi-million-dollar manufacturing facility in Israel highlights ADAMA's commitment to sustainable practices and increased production efficiency,” explains Ben Miles, managing director of ADAMA UK. “It incorporates some of the most advanced technologies to boost capacity and will allow ADAMA to produce chlorine up to 40% more efficiently.
“In doing so, it strengthens ADAMA’s ability to meet the growing global demand for our best-in-class fungicide actives and ensures UK growers will have access to key crop protection products such as Arizona (500 g/l folpet) which is now one of the most used fungicides in broad-acre arable production.”
As well as boosting capacity, the new plant also reduces the amount of energy required to produce folpet and captan, and ensures a safer, more sustainable process: the new facility uses cutting-edge membrane cell technology to replace the company's outgoing mercury-based system. This transition not only eliminates the risks associated with mercury, but also significantly improves energy efficiency. Initially the plant is expected to produce 40,000 metric tons of chlorine annually, with the ability to scale up to 50,000 metric tons as demand grows. This represents a substantial increase from the previous plant's capacity of around 27,000 tons per year.
The new facility also enables ADAMA to utilise the hydrogen generated as a byproduct to fuel its air emission treatment system, replacing fossil fuels and reducing its carbon footprint. ADAMA is also in the early stages of assessing the integration of a solar field near the plant to power its operations: this would enable the company to generate "green chlorine," further aligning with its environmental goals.
“The opening of the facility cements ADAMA’s ability to continue to deliver essential crop protection products while meeting stringent environmental standards," Ben continues. “As such, our UK customers can be 100% confident in our ability to supply the key components needed to protect wheat crops against septoria, and to safeguard barley from diseases including ramularia, rhynchosporium and net blotch.”
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Issued by:
Paul Jennings, Client Director, ABC Limited.
Mobile: 07515 260331 Email: paul@abccomms.co.uk
This news release can be downloaded directly from the ABC Press Centre at www.abccomms.co.uk