Boosting Potash Output by 20-30%: How to Fix Your Biggest Production Bottleneck

Most potash plants are limited by screening bottlenecks, not raw materials—strategic upgrades typically deliver 20-30% capacity gains with payback under one year. A real MOP facility boosted throughput from 400 t/h to 696 t/h by replacing four screens with two RHEWUM RHEduo® units, achieving 77.6% product purity while eliminating maintenance headaches. Right-sizing screens and fixing feed distribution beats major rebuilds for fast ROI and long-term flexibility.

Potash demand keeps climbing while supply stays locked into a handful of regions that could get hit by political disruptions any time. For most plants, the quickest way to boost capacity and nail down quality isn't some massive overhaul—it's fixing the screening bottlenecks that are choking your compaction and granulation circuits.

Why screening fixes work fast

Here's the thing: screening is what's actually limiting most potash lines, especially in compaction/granulation and final sizing. Fix that constraint and you immediately see higher throughput and more stable product quality. The best part? You're mostly talking about right-sizing screens and getting the feed distribution dialed in—not tearing apart your whole plant. Most brownfield upgrades get done in about six months and typically unlock 10–20% more production. When you go with purpose-built machines for the key separations, plants commonly see 20–30% capacity gains (that's often +100–150 t/h), and the payback usually hits in under a year if you can move that extra product.

What's actually holding you back

Here's what we see killing throughput in potash plants:

Undersized or maxed-out screens in compaction and granulation create the bottleneck; when material doesn't get distributed evenly across the decks, your separation efficiency tanks and recirculation goes through the roof.
Maintenance nightmares like manual screen cleaning that eats up 8 hours a month, mechanical knockers that need swapping every three months because of the high temps, and product screen conveyor belts that have to be replaced roughly every three weeks—and dust makes all of this worse.
Too much recirculation of oversize and fines drives up energy costs in the compaction–crushing–screening loop and messes with stability downstream.

Boosting Potash Output by 20-30%: How to Fix Your Biggest Production Bottleneck

Real-world results: MOP granule plant gets 75% more throughput We ran a comprehensive study at a muriate of potash (MOP) granule facility to see what strategic screening upgrades could actually deliver. The goal was pushing their potassium chloride (KCl) compaction...

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Real-world results: MOP granule plant gets 75% more throughput

We ran a comprehensive study at a muriate of potash (MOP) granule facility to see what strategic screening upgrades could actually deliver. The goal was pushing their potassium chloride (KCl) compaction and screening line from 400 t/h up to 696 t/h (with 900 t/h design capacity).

What they were dealing with: Four third-party product screens running 100 t/h each, but getting hammered by operational problems:

Manual screen cleaning sucking up 8 hours every month
Mechanical knockers dying every three months from high-temp wear
Feed conveyor belts needing replacement every three weeks
Uneven feed distribution across screens killing efficiency

The fix: RHEWUM swapped out those four screens for two RHEduo® triple-deck machines, each handling 348 t/h feed capacity (450 t/h design). We managed material distribution through RHEmid feeders and custom distribution chutes to keep loading consistent.

The numbers: RHEduo® system trials delivered solid results:

4-2 mm fraction: 77.6% product purity with 90.57% yield
Final product output: roughly 155-138 t/h in the target 4-2 mm range
Combined system throughput: 696 t/h (900 t/h design)

Why purpose-built equipment makes the difference

The RHEduo® system tackles the stuff that kills potash operations:

Keeps things running:

Steep machine angle prevents screen flooding, cutting unplanned downtime
Static housing lets you use fixed flange connections—no more compensator replacements
External drives handle product temps up to 450°C
Low-vibration design means you don't need anti-vibration frames

Cuts maintenance headaches:

Integrated chain-based screen cleaning ditches those high-maintenance bouncing balls
Massive reduction in manual cleaning time
Consistent deblinding without having to swap components all the time

Dust control and product quality

For final product screening, the plant installed a RHEflex® linear vibrating screen built for dust separation, rated at 146 t/h. Trial results showed serious precision:

<2 mm fraction: 98.6% product purity, 35.31% yield
2-4 mm fraction: 78.9% product purity, 99.97% yield

The RHEflex® uses high-frequency linear vibration for tight separations at narrow cut sizes, with compact, modular design that fits into existing layouts without structural reinforcement .

The bottom line: fast payback, long-term gains

Strategic screening upgrades deliver compelling economics: ROI typically comes in under one year per line when you can sell that added capacity. Beyond the immediate throughput boost, operations see fewer downtimes, longer maintenance intervals, lower lifecycle costs, and better ability to respond when the market moves.

In a market getting whipsawed by geopolitics and supply chain disruptions, operational flexibility and throughput agility aren't nice-to-haves—they're must-haves. De-bottlenecking your screening circuit gives you a scalable, cost-effective way to unlock capacity and lock in long-term profitability.Practically speaking, you've got two moves: replace undersized screening machines with properly sized units, or add screening capacity upstream or downstream to take the load off overworked equipment.

Want the full breakdown with data, flowsheets, and equipment specs? Download the complete white paper from our website now.

This article summarizes the white paper "Unlocking Potential: Tackling Bottlenecks in Potash Production" by RHEWUM GmbH. All technical details and performance metrics come from the complete source study.

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Published by RHEWUM America Inc. on Sep 10, 2025

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