Magazine: Nitrogen+Syngas

Although global ammonia supply is set to increase this year, there is a shortage of new merchant capacity after 2024 which may lead to rising prices in the medium term.

Large-scale ammonia cracking technology and catalysts will enable the full potential of ammonia to be realised as industries transition towards low carbon energy. In this feature we report on the current status of ammonia cracking processes and catalysts.

BASF, SABIC, and Linde have jointly inaugurated the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam cracking furnaces at BASF’s Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, following three years of development, engineering, and construction work. The three companies signed a joint agreement to develop and electrically heated steam cracking furnaces in March 2021.

Biuret is a chemical compound with the chemical formula HN(CONH₂)₂ , also known as carbamylurea. It is a commonly occurring undesirable impurity in urea-based fertilizers, as biuret is toxic to plants. Biuret is formed from urea, according to the following overall reaction:

The ammonia market reverted to recent norms at the end of April, with prices more or less unchanged in the east, and several benchmarks west of Suez moving downward in line with May’s Tampa settlement. Following a trio of high-priced c.fr spot deals many wondered whether such business would be replicated in Asia, but the hype did not live up to the expectation, with the majority of tonnes continuing to move on a contract basis into the likes of South Korea and Taiwan, China. The $430/t c.fr concluded into China has been attributed to both supply uncertainty and an uptick in domestic demand, though several inland prices declined this week, rendering price direction difficult.

Low emissions hydrogen is expected to play an increasing role in the syngasbased chemicals industry, but cost and technical challenges remain.

Although it has been a major exporter of urea, increasing Chinese government restrictions have restricted the seasonal window for exports.

thyssenkrupp AG has announced the appointment of Nadja Håkansson as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer effective from May 1, 2024. Håkansson, has held various management positions at Siemens and Siemens Energy and has over 18 years of national and international experience in the areas of supply chain management, operations, sales and corporate management. Most recently, as Senior Vice President Region Africa for Siemens Energy, she was responsible for the company’s overall portfolio development in the African market. She holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Institute of Technology at Linköping University, Sweden.

The board of Petrobras has approved the resumption of operations at the company’s Araucária Nitrogenados SA (ANSA) site at Araucaria, Parana state. The plant, which has the capacity to produce 475,000 t/a of ammonia and 720,000 t/a of urea, has been idled 2020.

Anton Kariagin and Stefan Gebert of Clariant discuss the benefits and commercial performance of the new low temperature shift (LTS) catalyst – ShiftMax 217 Plus. A case study demonstrates the benefits of this catalyst, providing ultra-low methanol formation resulting in increased ammonia production and/or energy savings.