Gestão ambiental na indústria de fertilizantes: diagnóstico inicial dos resíduos

Abstract

In order to meet the social need and achieve greater economic return, the consumption of fertilizers has increased over time, which contributes to the strengthening of this industrial sector. With the development of new technologies, fertilizers are being improved, making plantations more adaptable to adversities, such as unfavorable soil conditions and climate. New fertilizer industries are implemented taking into account a number of factors, such as production costs, feedstock and energy availability, and consumer market, which make the Triângulo Mineiro region very favorable for this sector. The fertilizer industry has activities that may lead serious environmental impacts, making its environmental management increasingly important. This work aims to present the diagnosis of waste from the fertilizer industries of the city of Uberlândia and region. Sixteen companies were contacted, of which twelve returned positive results, allowing the mapping of the generated waste in a representative manner. The diagnosis was made in four stages: (i) listing of the fertilizer companies of the city of Uberlândia and region; (ii) studies of processes and companies for better understanding and extraction of information; (iii) contact via telephone and internet, and direct contact; (iv) and gathering the data obtained, in which the most common wastes from the fertilizer companies were selected. Among the residues identified, the phosphogypsum stands out due to its high production, obtained through the process of obtaining phosphoric acid in the NPK fertilizer sector and with micronutrients. Phosphogypsum has a high pH, high content of fluorides, sulfates, and total phosphates, which makes the environmental management of this residue important. As a gaseous residue, fluoride gases are produced from the production of NPK fertilizers and with micronutrients; as well as the production of carbon dioxide, methane, sulfuric, carbonic, and ammonia gases in the composting process. The emission of these gases into the atmosphere is an environmental concern, and can be minimized through the use of gas scrubbers.