M.J. Cousins of Johnson Matthey and K. Nölker of thyssenkrupp Uhde discuss the integration of LCHTM technology and the uhde® ammonia process in providing low carbon ammonia at scale, efficiently, reliably and safely today.
Paralloy has developed Omega technology, an advanced reformer tube design that enhances heat transfer, gas turbulence, and process efficiency. Dr Dominique Flahaut of Paralloy explores the real-world implications of Omega reformer tubes.
While there is still a considerable push for use of biomass waste as a lower carbon feedstock for chemical production via gasification to syngas, biological processes such as fermentation are increasingly gaining traction as an alternative.
Syngas generation units (SGU) represent a large portion of the capital and operational expenditure of ammonia plants and are critical from a mechanical reliability standpoint. Related capex/opex optimisation and mitigation of possible operational problems are key targets for ammonia plant owners. Giovanni Manenti introduces NITROQUENCH® technology which focuses on these key targets for ammonia SGU.
Blue hydrogen has emerged as a crucial technology for decarbonisation as nations around the world work towards net-zero carbon targets. By decarbonising hydrogen production and exploring clean hydrogen sources we can fully harness the potential of hydrogen in the global energy transition. Johnson Matthey, Topsoe and Casale report on their strategies and advanced technical solutions for large scale blue hydrogen production.
One challenge of a green revamp by stepwise injection of green hydrogen into existing ammonia/urea complexes is to cover the nitrogen demand for the ammonia synthesis while stepwise reducing the front-end load, usually by applying a cost-intensive air separation unit (ASU). thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH has developed an advantageous concept whereby, instead of an ASU, the nitrogen gap is closed by the introduction of pretreated reformer flue gas back into the ammonia process, with the side effect to also enhance CO2 production.
Urea revamp activities are performed to achieve improvements of the urea plant. Besides the typical capacity increase there are many options to reduce operation costs, increase plant availability or reduce environmental impact. In this article Marc Wieschalla of thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH provides an overview of some of the options from an EPC contractor point of view.
One of the key challenges of producing RFNBO (renewable fuels of non-biological origin) compliant ammonia is managing the intermittency associated with renewable energy sources for hydrogen production. Furthermore, the additional costs associated with managing this intermittency can be significant. In this article, Dr Solomos Georgiou of AFRY Management Consulting explores those additional costs as well as potential ways to achieve cost savings and make RFNBO-compliant ammonia production competitive against conventional ‘grey’ ammonia.
The reliability of primary reformers is a key issue for syngas plants. In this article O. Chung, N. Goodman and C. Thomas of Quest Integrity describe the damage mechanisms and material limitations that impact the reliability of reformer outlet systems and the improvements that may be implemented.
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.