MB Energy says that it has received approval from the Hamburg Authority for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture (BUKEA) for the construction and operation of a new ammonia import terminal. Subject to final investment approval, the facility is planned for the Blumensand tank farm site in the Port of Hamburg.
The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which operates the huge Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan, has said that it is seeking international arbitration to resolve its ongoing dispute with the government of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has imposed a swingeing $4.6 billion fine for alleged violations of sulphur storage regulations at the NCOC site. In December, a special administrative court in Astana turned down an appeal by NCOC, although it also granted leave to appeal in a higher court. NCOC, a partnership between Shell, Eni, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, China National Petroleum Corporation, Inpex and Kazakh state oil and gas company KazMunayGaz, continues to maintain that its sulphur handling operations have been conducted in compliance with Kazakhstan’s laws and that it had the required permits in place.
A full sulphur pit turnaround and rehabilitation is typically a once in a lifetime experience for refinery personnel. Specialists in sulphur pit turnarounds, Gavin Palmer of Brindley Engineering, Tom Kline and Bob Hall of Structural Technologies have compiled a database based on multiple sulphur pit turnarounds to identify typical deficiencies in mechanical systems, along with improvements to enhance operability, restore functionality and meet all codes/standards and best practices.
Jilin Electric Power says that it has commissioned one of the world’s largest green hydrogen and ammonia plants in Jilin Province. Jilin says that this is the world’s largest operating green ammonia plant, with a capacity of up to 32,000 t/a of green hydrogen and 180,000 t/a of green ammonia; the largest combined PEM and alkaline electrolyser system, combining 196 MW of alkaline electrolysis and 52 MW of PEM electrolysis, respectively; and the world’s largest block of solid-state hydrogen storage - 48,000 Nm3. The plant is fed by 800 MW of installed renewable power. The green ammonia is EU-certified under low-carbon fuel standards, and offtake agreements are in place with companies located in Europe, Japan and South Korea.
Energy company Mabanaft says that it plans to convert four of its tanks at the Blumensand tank terminal in the Port of Hamburg over the next two years. The company’s aim is to facilitate the import of low-carbon methanol to northern Germany. Mabanaft expects demand for low carbon methanol to grow in future, both in the shipping and other transport sectors, as well as in the chemical industry.
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.
Tessenderlo Kerley International (TKInt) is a major global supplier of water-soluble sulphate of potash plant nutrition and the leading producer of thiosulphate-based fertilizers. In an exclusive interview, we speak to Nicolas White the company’s Portfolio & Knowledge Director, about recent strategic developments. These include major investments in new production, transshipment and storage capacity, production offtake agreements, and product sales and marketing rights.
Transporting sulphur as a dry bulk solid can lead to it breaking into small particles which create dust. Over the years, various forming processes have been developed to try and minimise dust formation and produce the strongest, most resilient formed sulphur particles.
As more focus extends to a circular economy, there are industry wide discussions on whether future global sulphur demand will be challenged by the energy transition and decarbonisation. Hannes Storch, Collin Bartlett and Marcus Runkel of Metso discuss how the recycling of pyrite tailings could address some of these issues.
Refinery sour water strippers are an often overlooked resource of low GWP ammonia. Martin A. Taylor and Charles L. Kimtantas of Bechtel Energy Technologies and Solutions, Inc. (BETS) show the results of a study on reusing an existing SWS as one of the major systems in a SWSPlus unit for the recovery of ammonia for sale. Relative cost factors will compare a complete SWSPlus unit versus reusing an existing SWS.