From new materials of construction and improved equipment designs to the latest digital tools, Casale, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, Saipem, TOYO and Stamicarbon report on some of their latest achievements.
Storm Uri which blanketed the southern states of the US with snow, and led to widespread power outages in Texas, has had a major impact upon US Gulf Coast and Southern-Midwest refined products supply. Most Gulf Coast refineries were shut down or forced to operate at reduced rates. IHS Markit estimated that more than 5.2 million bbl/d of Gulf Coast capacity and 730,000 bbl/d in PADD 2 was impacted by the winter weather at its height, and close to 20% of lower 48 US natural gas production was shut-in in the first half of February. A drop in crude oil production of between 2.2 and 4 million bbl/d was estimated.
This year the CRU Nitrogen + Syngas conference is going virtual. From 1 to 3 March 2021, the CRU virtual event will offer a live and on-demand agenda, interactive exhibition and enhanced networking capabilities on a platform tailored to make remote access as easy as possible.
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.
The last three years has seen a renaissance in fertilizer production and blending in sub-Saharan Africa. We highlight the expansion of capacity in Nigeria and other countries within the region.
Spanish fertilizer producer Fertiberia is teaming up with energy firm Iberdrola to build Europe’s largest plant for generating green hydrogen for industrial use – in this case ammonia production. The 100MW solar plant and accompanying 20 MWh lithium-ion battery system and 20MW electrolytic hydrogen production system will be built at a cost of $174 million, and electrolyse water to produce 720 t/a of hydrogen. When fed into Fertiberia’s existing ammonia plant at Puertollano, 250km south of Madrid, the hydrogen will allow a 10% reduction in natural gas use by the plant, saving the company 39,000 t/a in annual CO 2 emissions. Start-up is planned for 2021. Fertiberia will also use electrolysis-generated oxygen as a raw material for nitric acid, which is used to produce ammonium nitrate at the site.
Nitrogen+Syngas asked some of the industry’s leading EPC companies what they are doing to make construction sites safer around the world in pursuit of the goal for zero incident safety performance. Read on to find out what approaches have been taken by Maire Tecnimont Group, thyssenkrupp, Toyo Engineering Corporation and Saipem.
Following the publication of the 2020 nitrogen project listing by our sister magazine Nitrogen+Syngas, we profile a selection of leading nitrogen projects and their process licensors. Australia, Egypt, India, Nigeria and Russia have been key countries for new project developments.
As existing facilities grow older, service requirements increase. Equipment needs to be low maintenance and back in operation quickly after service and repair. Technology licensors are expanding their technical services with new digital tools, using digitalised expertise with real time insights and data driven analytics to boost chemical production and ensure that equipment operates reliably and efficiently, while maintaining product quality.
A Stamicarbon urea plant attempts to start up after a scheduled turnaround. Due to maintenance issues, it is necessary to shut down and block in the synthesis section several times. Although licensor’s procedures have been followed, several signs of active corrosion are noticed in the liner of the reactor. What could the cause be for this unexpected behaviour? Can sharing experiences from colleagues from other urea plants provide valuable support to find the root cause or even provide new insights into possible new causes? One observation is that the typical heating up rate of a liner in a reactor is much higher than recommended (refer to diagram). The condensation heat of steam heats up the liner much faster than the carbon steel pressure bearing wall. This creates stress on the liner and affects the lifetime of the liner. Another observation is a temperature rise in the reactor during a blocking in situation. This can be a cause for loss of oxygen required for passivation, resulting in higher corrosion rates.