Magazine: Nitrogen+Syngas

Yara International has reached an agreement to acquire Gulf Coast Ammonia’s (GCA) ammonia production facility in Texas City, Texas from GCA Holdings LLC, for a consideration of $ 1.3 billion. Yara says that the acquisition is part of its strategy to diversify its energy exposure and enhance the competitiveness of its global ammonia production footprint. Yara will own the ammonia plant with an expected nameplate capacity of 1.3 million t/a, with Air Products supplying industrial gases to Yara as part of a long-term supply agreement. Yara will use its midstream ammonia platform to supply both external customers and its own internal sourcing needs.

Any leak in high-pressure urea equipment is critical, as corrosive ammonium carbamate can attack the carbon steel pressure-bearing parts – including the vessel wall and tubesheets – and may ultimately lead to catastrophic rupture. The image shows corrosion of a carbon steel tubesheet in a falling film high-pressure carbamate condenser caused by a leak at the tube-to-tubesheet weld.

Air Liquide explains the key features and benefits of GasPOx, a catalyst-free syngas platform that enables cost-efficient, low-carbon production from diverse feedstocks with minimal pretreatment.

Stamicarbon outlines key strategies and considerations for successful nitric acid plant revamps, including capacity enhancement, emission control, energy optimisation, and safety improvements.

VK Arora of Kinetics Process Improvements (KPI) compares the delivered-cost competitiveness of blue ammonia from regions including the US Gulf Coast, Western Canada, Atlantic Canada, the Middle East, Indonesia, and Malaysia into Japan, the European Union, and South Korea.

Selecting the right syngas technology is a critical early decision for low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia projects. Shell shows how gas-based partial oxidation (POx) can offer a potentially simpler and lower-cost route designed to deliver high carbon capture performance.

Topsoe looks at what typically triggers a revamp, how plants build a robust business case, where technology advances can deliver meaningful gains, and how to secure a successful revamp project.

Methanex says that it has been unable to agree to a new natural gas contract for its 860,000 t/a Titan methanol plant in Trinidad and Tobago, and, as a result, will begin the process of indefinitely idling the facility. Titan’s existing natural gas contract expires in the third quarter of 2026. Methanex says that it will undertake a preservation process at the Titan plant to provide options for a future restart should conditions materially improve. The neighbouring 1/7 million t/a Atlas methanol plant, a joint venture in which Methanex holds a 63.1% economic interest, remains indefinitely idled in a preserved state.

Australian Fertilizer Corporation has signed exclusive 10-year offtake agreements covering 100% of the planned 220,000 t/a output from its proposed Gladstone Urea Facility, in a deal the company values at more than AUD 2.4 billion ($1.56 billion) over the initial term.

JSW Steel says that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bharatia and Carbon Iceland International to develop a 300,000 t/a green methanol facility. The plant will capture carbon dioxide emissions from JSW Steel’s existing Raigad facility in Maharashtra state, and combine them with hydrogen produced from water electrolysis using renewable electricity. Under the […]