Manufacture of ammonium sulfate fertilizer from gypsum-rich byproduct of flue gas desulfurization - A prefeasibility cost estimate

Costs for constructing and operating a conceptual plant based on a proposed process that converts flue gas desulfurization (FGD)-gypsum to ammonium sulfate fertilizer has been calculated and used to estimate a market price for the product. The average market price of granular ammonium sulfate ($138/ton) exceeds the rough estimated cost of ammonium sulfate from the proposed process ($111/ ton), by 25 percent, if granular size ammonium sulfate crystals of 1.2 to 3.3 millimeters in diameters can be produced by the proposed process. However, there was at least ??30% margin in the cost estimate calculations. The additional costs for compaction, if needed to create granules of the required size, would make the process uneconomical unless considerable efficiency gains are achieved to balance the additional costs. This study suggests the need both to refine the crystallization process and to find potential markets for the calcium carbonate produced by the process.