Turkey’s İGSAŞ restores ammonia capacity with lower energy use

Germany’s thyssenkrupp Uhde, working with Johnson Matthey, has completed a major ammonia converter revamp for İGSAŞ at its Kocaeli, Turkey, complex, restoring original nameplate capacity while cutting energy demand and pressure drop. A recent performance test confirmed a 13% production increase to the original 1,200 t/d ammonia capacity, achieved while operating at 7% lower synthesis loop pressure, delivering a material reduction in specific energy consumption and compressor power. The revamped converter now runs with around 70% lower pressure drop across the cartridge, improving loop efficiency and supporting higher on stream reliability.

The project involved replacement of a converter cartridge that had been in continuous service for about 36 years, significantly beyond typical industry lifetimes, with thyssenkrupp Uhde highlighting this as evidence of the robustness of its uhde® ammonia converter design and İGSAŞ’s operational discipline. Installation and start up were executed under thyssenkrupp Uhde supervision, with rapid catalyst loading using uhde® dense loading techniques together with the İGSAŞ team, followed by coordinated catalyst reduction and commissioning in cooperation with Johnson Matthey. The converter now combines a new uhde® cartridge with Johnson Matthey’s KATALCO™ 74 1 catalyst, providing a high activity, low pressure drop system that can support future debottlenecking or integration of green hydrogen for low carbon ammonia production.

thyssenkrupp Uhde’s scope covered the full converter intervention, including opening, catalyst unloading, mechanical assembly, refilling and activation, start up assistance and performance testing. Nadja Håkansson, COO of thyssenkrupp Decarbon Technologies and CEO of thyssenkrupp Uhde, said the project delivers “significantly improved energy efficiency and reliability, while gaining future flexibility for capacity increase or green ammonia production.” İGSAŞ general manager İlkay Ünal described the revamp as an “important milestone in strengthening the reliability, efficiency and long term sustainability” of the company’s production assets. The company supplies fertilizers to Turkish agriculture and industry and is one of Turkey’s largest industrial enterprises under Yıldızlar Yatırım Holding, making improved converter performance directly relevant to regional nitrogen fertilizer security.