Circular economy · the potash loop

Crop residue taken from the field to fuel boilers contains potassium. VAN recovers that potassium from the boiler ash and uses it in fertiliser that goes back to farmland.

Potassium in the soilVAN10 t ash → 1 t potashKimported potashK
8/8

Recovered potash replaces imported potash

Pakistan has no potash mine in production, so each tonne VAN recovers replaces a tonne of imported potash. Between 2023 and 2026 VAN replaced about 300 tonnes of imported potash. VAN plans a new line for 2027, designed to recover 500 tonnes of potash a year from 5,000 tonnes of ash.

Circular economy

Crop residue is burned as boiler fuel. VAN recovers potassium from its ash

Crop residue is taken from the field to fuel bio-power boilers. The potassium and silicon that the crop took up from the soil are carried away with the residue and end up concentrated in the boiler ash. VAN collects that ash, tests it, and recovers the potassium for use in its fertiliser. About 1 tonne of potash is recovered from every 10 tonnes of ash. Recovery of silicon from the same ash is still in research and development.

01 Production status02 What VAN does not claim
Also in this section, on their own pages
From crop residue ash to potassium →What happens to a tonne of ash after it reaches VAN, step by step.The soil actions register →Each action VAN takes that affects soil, how it works and the evidence behind it.
01Production status

Potassium recovery is in production; silicon recovery is still in research and development

About 20%
of the potash VAN used in 2026 to date came from crop residue ash
3,000 t
of crop residue ash processed from 2023 to 2026
500 t
of recovered potash a year from 5,000 t of ash: what the new line VAN plans for 2027 is designed to recover
About 10 to 1
tonnes of ash processed for each tonne of potash recovered

VAN uses recovered potassium as a regular raw material in its own manufacturing, in place of imported potash. Between 2023 and 2026 it replaced about 300 tonnes of imported potash in several forms and grades of VAN products. This matches the 3,000 tonnes of ash processed, at a recovery ratio of about 10 to 1.

VAN’s silicon recovery process is still in research and development. It has worked in VAN’s laboratory and is being prepared for the production line. The form of the silicon product is not fixed yet: soluble silicate and amorphous silica behave differently in alkaline soil, and the form will be chosen when the research is complete. VAN plans to scale up silicon recovery by the end of 2027.

Potassium: in production · scaling upSilicon: still in research and developmentFeedstock: crop residue ashHeavy metals screened by PCSIR
02What VAN does not claim

VAN does not label any bag as containing recovered potassium, and makes no claim that its products return silicon or carbon to the soil

Recovered potassium is a raw material, used in the same way as imported potash. It goes into VAN’s potash grades generally rather than into a single grade.

Silicon recovery is still in research and development and is not in any product. VAN does not claim to return the residue’s carbon to the soil: burning releases it, and at present VAN recovers only potassium.