Nitrogen Industry News

Nitrogen Industry News

NORWAY

Yara hopes to convert Porsgrunn to renewable production

Building on its long experience and leading position within global ammonia production, logistics and trade, Yara says that it aims to capture opportunities in green shipping, agriculture and industrial applications; a market expected to grow by 60% over the next two decades. A major first step includes plans to fully electrify its ammonia plant at Porsgrunn, Norway, with the potential to cut 800,000 t/a of CO 2 , equivalent to the emissions from 300,000 passenger cars.

To make its vision of zero-emission ammonia production in Norway a reality, Yara is seeking partners and government support. If the required public co-funding and regulatory framework is in place, the project could be operational in 2026, the company says. The project would eliminate one of Norway’s largest static CO 2 sources, and would be a major contributor for Norway to reach its Paris agreement commitments. Yara aims to produce emission-free fuel for shipping, carbon-free fertilizer and ammonia for industrial applications.

“Ammonia is the most promising hydrogen carrier and zero-carbon shipping fuel, and Yara is the global ammonia champion; a leader within production, logistics and trade. I am excited to announce that a full-scale green ammonia project is possible in Norway, where we can fully electrify our Porsgrunn ammonia plant,” said Svein Tore Holsether, president and chief executive officer of Yara.

Investment in ‘blue’ ammonia company

Saga Pure ASA has bought $4 million shares in Horisont Energi AS, taking an 11.7% stake in the company. Horisont Energi, based in Stavanger, is looking to develop a carbon capture based ‘blue’ ammonia plant in Finnmark in the north of Norway in a partnership together with Equinor, and the company is already in dialogue with several other large international companies for further blue ammonia and CCS projects. The company says that it will use the net proceeds from the private share placement to build its organisation and conduct preparatory work to reach a final investment decision for the project.

“Horisont Energi has developed an attractive value chain solution for production of blue ammonia as well as CO 2 handling, and we see great potential for this company going forward,” commented Bjørn Simonsen, CEO of Saga Pure.

NETHERLANDS

Grant for transformation of steel and urea industries.

A consortium led by the Dutch Research Institution TNO has received a grant of e21 million from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Framework Program, called the INITIATE (Innovative Industrial Transformation of the steel and chemical industries of Europe) Project, to investigate and develop the potential of symbiotic industrial processes to convert residual steel gas emissions into resources for urea production. Tecnimont subsidiaries Stamicarbon, MET Development and NextChem will all participate in the consortium of steel, chemical and energy transition companies, research institutions, universities and industrial partners active in both the steel and fertilizer industries.

The INITIATE project aims to demonstrate a novel circular process that transforms residual steel gases into resources for urea production. The core of this process is a modular carbon-capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology, integrating the flexible conditioning of carbon-rich steel off-gases with the synthesis of ammonia. Steel and urea production are between them responsible for 30% of all industrial carbon emissions. Demonstration/development units will be built at Swerim’s facility in Luleå, Sweden, for proof of concept, with the eventual aim of a commercial implantation plant, involving construction of a first of its kind 150 t/d urea plant within the next five years. Stamicarbon will be responsible for this second phase of the project.

Green ammonia project could cut CO 2 by 100,000 t/a

Yara is partnering with leading offshore wind developer Ørsted to launch a medium-scale project to use renewable hydrogen in the production of ammonia. Doing so would eliminate more than 100,000 tonnes of CO 2 per year, equivalent to taking 50,000 conventional cars off the road. The companies say that they are now in the process of securing public co-funding and the appropriate regulatory framework, with an operational target date of 2024/2025. The renewable hydrogen would generate around 75,000 t/a of green ammonia, based on a dedicated renewable energy supply from Ørsted’s offshore wind farms.

The ammonia would be used in the production of carbon neutral fertilizer products, decarbonising the food value chain, and also has potential as a future climate neutral shipping fuel. A final investment decision to build the new plant is hoped for by late 2021 or early 2022.

“We share a vision of creating a sustainable future for us all,” says Terje Knutsen, executive vice president and head of Farming Solutions in Yara. “To support this, Yara and Ørsted have partnered to develop a 100 MW wind-powered electrolyser plant for renewable hydrogen production, aiming to replace fossil-based hydrogen for ammonia production in Yara’s plant in the Dutch province of Zeeland.”

DENMARK

Topsoe in venture to build commercial scale renewable ammonia plant

Haldor Topsoe says that it will partner Skovgaard Invest, supported by Vestas, a global leader in sustainable energy solutions, to build a ‘green’ ammonia plant in western Jutland, Denmark by 2022, based on a 10 MW electrolyser to generate hydrogen. The plant will produce more than 5,000 t/a of ammonia from renewable power, using 12 MW of power from existing Vestas wind turbines and 50 MW from a new solar array. To improve the business case and increase the attractiveness of green ammonia as a substitute for fossil fuels, Haldor Topsoe and Vestas say that they are developing a dynamic, scalable and cost-optimised solution. Haldor Topsoe will design the plant’s fully dynamic ammonia technology to secure optimal production and adapt to the inherent fluctuations in power output from wind turbines and solar panels. The ammonia plant will interface to a green hydrogen solution developed by Vestas, integrating electrolysis with wind and solar in one smart control system. In addition, the renewable energy generation will be connected directly to the national grid so surplus power can be sold to the grid. When in operation, the project will deliver proof of concept and experience that can pave the way for larger projects in the future. The partnership will jointly invest in the project and has applied for public co-funding.

“This project will proves that we can produce a very clean fuel from renewable power at industrial scale as soon as 2022,” said Kim Grøn Knudsen, chief strategy & innovation officer, Haldor Topsoe. “We have available the technologies we need to begin the transition towards renewable fuels and reduce carbon emissions, and with the innovations in this project, we push the limits for how fluctuating renewable energy is used in direct synthesis of clean fuels.”

SAUDI ARABIA

SAFCO becomes SABIC Agri-Nutrients

The Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company (SAFCO) has been renamed SABIC Agri-Nutrients, following after share purchase agreements with SABIC which the company says will provide capital to serve as a growth platform for the business and to support its diversification strategy to achieve sustainable long-term growth. SABIC Agri-Nutrients is aiming to become a global agribusiness leader, hoping to benefit from the SABIC brand. A global brand campaign will soon be launched to promote the new company among key players in the agriculture sector and create awareness of its rebranding strategy.

INDIA

Two killed in IFFCO ammonia leak

Two employees have been killed and at least 16 others, including three contractors, were hospitalised due to ammonia inhalation following an ammonia leak at IFFCO’s Phulpur ammonia-urea plant in Uttar Pradesh in December. In a statement, IFFCO said the accident took place during maintenance work as the tie rods of an ammonia plunger pump suddenly broke and became detached, leading to heavy ammonia leakage. The dead were named as deputy manager Abhay Nandan and assistant manager V P Singh.

“Our two officials laid down their lives tackling the accident and saving the lives of their other colleagues. My deepest condolences to their family and friends,” said IFFCO managing director and CEO U.S. Awashthi said.

JAPAN

Hydrogen and ammonia to provide 10% of Japan’s energy by 2050

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has unveiled a proposal for the country’s 2050 energy mix as the country gears up to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with hydrogen and ammonia accounting for about 10% of the power generation mix in 30 years, from a current baseline of zero. The proposal notes that this would require annual hydrogen procurement volumes of about 5-10 million t/a by 2050. Japan’s current hydrogen strategy, agreed in 2017, is targeting 300,000 t/a of hydrogen production at a cost of $0.29/Nm3 by 2030, against a current cost of $1.64/Nm3 .

Ammonia could be co-fired with coal, requiring about 500,000 t/a of ammonia per 1 GW of coal-fired power capacity, according to METI. If ammonia replaced 20% of Japans coal-fired generation capacity, it would require 20 million t/a of ammonia.

Meanwhile, Japanese firms, backed by state-owned energy agency Jogmec, are studying the possibility of producing and shipping ‘blue’ ammonia produced in Russia far eastern region for coal co-firing. The feasibility study is being conducted by Jogmec, trader Itochu and Toyo Engineering, together with Russian oil producer Irkutsk Oil (IOC). The partners are considering the establishment of an entire value chain for mass-produced ‘blue’ ammonia using natural gas produced by IOC with CO2 captured and injected into eastern Siberian oil fields for enhanced oil recovery.

ISRAEL

Haifa awards contract for ammonia plant

Haifa Group has awarded Saipem a $200 million contract to build a long-delayed ammonia plant at Mishor Rotem in the Negev desert, southwest of the Dead Sea. The contract was signed during an online ceremony in the presence of Haifa Group CEO, Motti Levin, Haifa Group board member and project leader, Dr. Eli Abramov, and Saipem’s CEO, Stefano Cao, and Saipem’s COO Onshore E&C Division, Maurizio Coratella.

Haldor Topsoe technology will be licensed for the plant construction. Capacity is projected to be 100,000 t/a, with construction taking three years. Saipem’s scope of work entails engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning for the entire facility.

The plant’s offtake will mostly be used for production of potassium nitrate fertilizer, but Haifa says a surplus will be offered to customers in Israel. The plant’s construction was necessitated by the closure of the ammonia tank at the coastal city of Haifa, which was used to store ammonia imported by sea.

AUSTRALIA

Feasibility study on urea plant

Australia’s Strike Energy and engineering company TechnipFMC have completed a feasibility study for a urea facility in Western Australia. The proposed $1.8 billion Project Haber development at Geraldton Port in Western Australia would include an 800,000 t/a ammonia plant and 1.4 million t/a urea plat, along with 300,000 t/a of on-site urea storage, power, utilities, steam generation and rail sidings. Feed would be via a 120 km natural gas pipeline from the Perth basin. Although this would be a completely conventional gas-based urea facility, Strike says that it is considering additional options for carbon management and abatement, including carbon capture and storage or carbon offsets, which will be evaluated and considered during the front-end engineering and design phase. In the longer term, it also plans to use wind turbines to generate up to 10MW of electricity to electrolyse water to initially produce up to 2% of the plant’s hydrogen requirement, with the option of further scale-up of green inputs. It is currently targeting a final investment decision at the end of 2022, with construction anticipated to take 36 months.

Saipem joint venture to build Perdaman urea plant

Perdaman Industries has awarded the $2.4 billion engineering, procurement and construction contract for the Burrup Urea Project to a 50-50 joint venture comprising Saipem SpA and local engineering and construction firm Clough Group. The project will build a 2.1 million t/a urea complex at the Burrup Peninsula Industrial Area, approximately 20 km northwest of Karratha, on the coastline of Western Australia. The scope of work includes engineering, supply of equipment and materials, construction, pre-commissioning and commissioning, including a water treatment plant, a 100 MW power plant and urea storage, loading and unloading facilities. Saipem will provide Snamprogetti technology for the urea plant, while Haldor Topsoe will license its Syn-COR™ technology to build the world’s largest single-train ammonia plant.

Stefano Cao, Saipem’s CEO, commented: “We congratulate Perdaman Industries for the achievement, and we are grateful for the confidence demonstrated towards our Saipem-Clough JV. This project – one of the largest and environmentally efficient urea plants in the world – will strengthen our leadership role in the gas monetisation market and will contribute to further diversify our geographical footprint.”

EGYPT

Abu Qir to begin debottlenecking study

Abu Qir Fertilizers says that it has contracted Stamicarbon to carry out technical studies for the debottlenecking of its number 3 urea plant. The project would raise capacity from 1,940 t/d day to 2,370 t/d.

LIBYA

Yara cashes out of Lifeco

Yara has sold its 50% stake in the Libyan-Norwegian Fertilizers Company (Lifeco) to Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC). Lifeco was a joint venture between Yara, NOC and the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), the latter two of which each held a 25% stake. Lifeco operates a 700,000 t/a ammonia and 900,000 t/a urea complex at Marsa el Brega on the Libyan coast, but the plant has been idle for some time.

UZBEKISTAN

Production begins at Navoiyazot

On December 23rd, urea production began at the new $985 million Navoiyazot ammonia-urea complex, according to the company. The plant has 660,000 t/a of ammonia and 577,500 t/a of urea capacity, as well as nitric acid and ammonium nitrate plants. The output will feed domestic fertilizer requirements in Uzbekistan, as well as neighbouring countries in Central Asia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Georgia. Ammonia technology was provided by Haldor Topsoe, urea by Saipem, and Uhde’s urea granulation process. Engineering, procurement and construction was handled by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov, chairman of Uzbek state chemical conglomerate Uzkimyosanoat (owners of Navoiazot) said: “I would like to thank our national and international partners who supported the construction of the new ammonia and urea production complex at JSC Navoiyazot. Commissioning of the new complex was completed within 53 days despite Covid and existing restrictions, testament to the hard work of all involved.”

UNITED KINGDOM

Consultation on possible urea ban

The UK Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a consultation with British farmers on a possible ban on the use of solid urea fertilizer. Defra is seeking to reduce emissions of ammonia by 8% compared to 2005 levels by 2020 and 16% by 2030. The department says that the emissions are harmful to natural habitats as well as to human health, with 87% coming from agriculture, of which 18% is attributed to inorganic fertiliser application.

Three policy options are set out in Defra’s consultation, including a total ban on solid urea fertilisers, or a requirement to stabilise them with the addition of a urease inhibitor – a chemical that helps slow the conversion of urea to ammonium. Defra is also looking at a requirement to restrict the spreading of solid urea fertilisers so they can only be used from 15 January to 31 March.

Defra Secretary George Eustice says that any changes would need to be made in a way that was ‘realistic and achievable’ for farmers. “Ammonia emissions are causing harm to sensitive and important habitats by making soils more acidic which damages the growth of some plant species, impacting on biodiversity,” he said. “They are also harmful to human health, and we welcome views on how we can address their use in agriculture so that we can all breathe cleaner air. We are committed to working with farmers to help them do this.”

UKRAINE

OPZ output back at five year high

The troubled Odessa Port Plant (OPZ) has posted its highest production figures for five years after moving to a tolling arrangement for its gas supplies. The company says that in 2020 it produced 821,200 tonnes of urea, as well as 96,500 tonnes of excess ammonia. OPZ exports 90% of its output. The urea production figure is up 250% on 2019, when the plant was shut down for much of the year, and its highest output since 2015, following ongoing difficulties with gas supply and financing.

BOLIVIA

Pipeline offers hope for urea plant

Bolivian state energy company Yacimientos Petrolifos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), has completed the Carrasco-Yapacaní natural gas pipeline capacity expansion project. The $24 million project will allow gas to flow to the Bulo Bulo ammonia-urea plant, which is now reportedly aiming for a re-start during the first half of 2021. The 700,000 t/a facility has been idled for over a year due to gas availability issues.

GREECE

Startup of new NOx catalyst

Kavala Fertilizers’ nitric acid unit in Greece has restarted with a charge of Haldor Topsoe’s TertiNOx™ catalyst – its first commercial reference. The catalyst removes nitrous oxide (N2 O), a very potent greenhouse gas with an estimated effect on global warming 298 times that of CO2 . At the current performance level, the plant will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30,000 t/a of CO2 . The plant has already exceeded its design conversion with N2 O emissions below 10 ppm, low ammonia slip, and practically eliminated NOx emissions.

GERMANY

New ammonia synthesis catalyst

Clariant and Casale have jointly developed a new ammonia catalyst for sustainable CO2 reduction; AmoMax-Casale. ™ The catalyst has up to 30% higher efficiency than previous generations of AmoMax due to a larger active surface area. This significantly lowers the energy consumption and hence CO2 emission of an ammonia plant in two ways; firstly by allowing operation of the ammonia synthesis loop with considerably less pressure, and secondly because of higher conversion, so the plant will consume less energy for the recirculation of the process gas in the reactor loop. There is a much fuller discussion of the catalyst in our article in Nitrogen+Syngas 364, Mar/Apr 2020; “Evolution of a new NH3 synthesis catalyst”, pages 44-48.