Petrobras has completed the first production tests of an automotive liquid reducing agent ARLA 32 at Araucária Nitrogenados SA — Ansa, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, in Araucária, Brazil.
The production of the product, which is in the laboratory specification phase, marks the first step in the resumption of production at the fertilizer plant, which had been inactive since 2020 and had its operational activities resumption approved in June 2024.
ARLA 32 is being produced through the industrialisation of urea supplied by Yara and will be made to order, according to an agreement signed by the two companies and announced to the market in November 2024. In addition to being the first step in the resumption of Ansa’s operations, the agreement also marks the resumption of domestic production of the product by Petrobras. The industrialisation process is being carried out in parallel with the activities to fully resume operations at the Araucária plant.
The automotive liquid reducing agent – ARLA 32 – is an aqueous urea solution used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), one of the most harmful pollutants to the environment. The product acts on the exhaust system, transforming NOx into nitrogen and water vapour, which are harmless. Ansa will receive urea with a low biuret content and, using its technology, it will be mixed with demineralised water, resulting in a high-purity solution with a concentration of 32.5%.
The President of Araucária Nitrogenados, Demétrio Sheeny Coutinho, emphasises the importance of this milestone, with the first product generated at the factory after the hibernation period. “This stage goes beyond a simple operational milestone. It is concrete proof that the full resumption of Ansa is very close. Every drop of ARLA 32 that comes out of here will carry with it the collective effort of everyone who believed that this day would come”, he reflected.
“The fertilizer sector is strategically important to Petrobras. We are resuming investments in this segment, based on technical and economic feasibility studies, with the aim of expanding our gas market and contributing to reducing Brazil’s dependence on fertilizer imports. Furthermore, with the production of ARLA 32, more than diversifying our portfolio, we are contributing with an essential product for reducing vehicle emissions and environmental preservation,” said William França, Director of Industrial Processes at Petrobras.
