Tag: Ammonia

Global nitrogen and methanol markets are currently in the grip of a crisis in feedstock prices. Mostly this is about Europe’s dependence on imported natural gas, but – particularly on the methanol side – it has also been exacerbated by high coal prices in China, where heavy rains have led to flooding in Shanxi province, the source of one third of China’s coal. These have followed similar floods in Henan in July, and come at a time when China is facing power rationing due to a lack of electricity supply. The world economy’s long-awaited bounce back from the covid pandemic has also led to a general global surge in energy demand, and consequently higher oil and gas prices.

Every urea plant continuously fights again corrosion. The intermediate product ammonium carbamate is extremely corrosive under synthesis conditions. The applied materials of construction require oxygen to form a protective passive layer of chromium oxides. The ammonium carbamate solution will continuously dissolve the passive layer, therefore it is vital to continuously supply oxygen, typically in the form of air, to maintain the passive layer. During blocking-in conditions of the synthesis section it is not possible to add air and the oxygen present will be consumed as a result of the passive corrosion reactions, while at the same time the passive layer dissolves in the ammonium-carbamate solution. At a certain point, the oxygen content in the solution becomes too low to assure a passive layer. At that moment active corrosion will start with much higher corrosion rates than passive corrosion. The picture on the left side shows the passive layer (blue, brown, grey surface) and the picture on the right side shows active corrosion (a shiny silver surface). It is important to realise that once active corrosion starts it cannot be stopped, adding more oxygen at this stage, for example, will not work. Active corrosion will continue, leading to the risk that the protective layer will be severely damaged. The only way to solve this situation is to drain the synthesis section and re-passivate the surfaces.

Nitrogen-rich wastewaters remain a major issue for fertilizer and other industries. Saipem’s new electrochemical technology, SPELL, is an important step towards the overall objective of zero industrial pollution. A complete engineering review of the technology, its alignment with all international applicable standards, and optimisation has now been concluded and the technology is ready for deployment for the removal of ammonium nitrogen from industrial waters and wastewaters. Saipem discusses the key features of SPELL and reports on the first two industrial references.

Soaring natural gas prices in Europe, up to five times higher than normal, have led to numerous economic shutdowns of ammonia capacity across the continent. This has coincided with shutdowns in the US due to hurricane season, reducing availability considerably and driving up prices in the western hemisphere.

As sulphur recovery units operate at progressively higher temperatures, creep stress in the furnace refractory lining can lead to deformation or even failure of the bricks and require the shutdown of the SRU. UK-based DSF Refractories have developed a product which minimises creep stress damage at high temperatures, for a longer-lived furnace lining.

Th e past year has seen an extraordinary run-up in sulphur and sulphuric acid prices, the former from a low of around $50-70/t f.o.b. in mid-2020 to more than $100/t higher than that at the end of Q1 2021. Prices then plateaued for much of this year, but they have begun moving inexorably upwards again in the past couple of months, drawn by rapidly rising phosphate prices, and Middle East sulphur rates recently breached price levels not seen since 2012.

Although the number of new sour gas developments has slowed in recent years compared to the large boost of the previous decade, sour gas projects continue to be a major source of new sulphur production.

Considering the current shift to produce biofuels instead of conventional oil products, M. van Son of Comprimo discusses the impact that this may have on the ability to process the sour water acid gas streams produced in existing or new sour water strippers.

Major fertilizer industry players such as Stamicarbon, Nutrien and CF Industries are ramping up investment in ‘green’ and ‘blue’ fertilizer production. Consequently, low-carbon production technologies are being scaled-up and deployed commercially.

Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media