Bringing a proven history of efficiency and sustainability to today’s potash producers
In the ever-evolving potash industry, producers face regular economic, environmental, and safety challenges. Thus, efficiency and sustainability have become critical assets and prime commodities in an ever-changing industrial landscape.
To address these unique industry challenges, forward-thinking potash producers have often turned to Submerged Combustion (SubCom®) direct-fired heaters as a consistent, reliable, and innovative solution.
Proudly Canadian, Inproheat Industries Ltd. developed, patented, and launched its SubCom® technology in 1972. The submerged combustion process involves burning fuel in a direct-fired heater chamber submerged below the surface of a chosen liquid or slurry. Heat transfer occurs through direct contact between the liquid or slurry and the resulting combustion gases.
Designed for liquid heating and direct evaporation applications, SubCom® direct-fired heaters are most effective with corrosive and fouling liquids, abrasive slurries, high suspended or dissolved solids. They boast high thermal efficiency that can exceed 99 per cent (HHV basis) and they can be further enhanced by integrated heat recovery units for reduced water loss.
Further benefits come from fouling resistance, a reduction in GHGs and fuel, high turndown, and low maintenance, which leads to a long system life. SubCom® units adhere to CSA, NFPA, FM, and CEN parameters, and operators – who can maintain them remotely – don’t need to possess boiler operator certification.
For potash producers, SubCom® direct-fired heaters have demonstrated versatility and efficiency in applications such as solution mining, amine reagent mining, process water, and crystallization.
A notable example is the conversion of an underground mine at Patience Lake in Saskatchewan – overseen by the Potash Corporation of America – into a solution mining operation after flooding. To maintain brine temperature, Inproheat delivered a 26 MM Btu/h SubCom® unit for use on a floating barge in 1989. Two years later, a full-scale 10-burner 130 MM Btu/h SubCom® installation was completed, capable of heating 17,000 gpm to 17°C. This achievement earned the Potash Corporation of America an award from the Canadian Gas Association for the innovative use of natural gas.
Operational ownership later transferred to the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, which led to a significant SubCom® upgrade in 2011. This upgrade included four additional burners, a 182 MM Btu/h capacity, a modernized PLC control system, and an operator-friendly platform design. Now owned by Nutrien, the Patience Lake mine remains active today.
In another instance, Compass Minerals commissioned Inproheat for a SubCom® direct-fired heater to replace an existing system of package boilers that were adversely impacting the operating costs of a Sulphate of Potash (SOP) application in Ogden, Utah. Inproheat delivered a 30 MM Btu/h SubCom® unit for heating process water in 2014. An upgrade followed in 2016 to improve the capacity of SOP mining through crystallization, with Inproheat providing a 60 MM Btu/h SubCom® direct-fired heater system to increase hot water supply and overall process efficiency. This SOP operation continues today.
These projects – along with others in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and as far away as Chile and Europe – exemplify how Inproheat’s SubCom® direct-fired heaters have provided the industry clients with efficiency and reliability, while addressing their specific needs. Successful projects evolve and endure, and so has SubCom®.
For potash producers looking to enhance current operations or map out ambitious projects, SubCom® direct-fired heaters are poised to meet their critical industry demands and build on 50 years of proven history.
We welcome the opportunity to learn more about your potash mining goals and provide your cutting-edge project with an industry-leading solution.
