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.
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.
Low carbon intensity hydrogen and ammonia production schemes from KBR, Air Liquide, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Casale and Johnson Matthey.
New methods for low-carbon ammonia production are emerging, while project activity is also rising rapidly.
Previously, recuperative reforming has been mostly applied for capacity increase revamps, but nowadays it is a key enabler for efficient low carbon hydrogen and syngas production. Jan-Jaap Riegman of Technip Energies, Francesco Baratto of Casale and Stefan Gebert of Clariant discuss the benefits of recuperative reforming for reducing the carbon footprint of existing assets.
Air Liquide presents the results of an internal study to identify preferred natural gas-based plant configurations at a methanol capacity of 250 t/d. Delivering small capacity plants requires a focus on the total cost of ownership (TCO) for the economics to be successful, in addition to the CO 2 footprint of the operation. As found by this study, SMR concepts are naturally power balanced for standalone greenfield operations and show no particular advantage for power import in a brownfield setting. POX and ATR cases are greatly improved and even advantaged in a brownfield setting compared to SMR when shifting from power balance to power import cases.
thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions discusses a revamping concept to reduce CO2 emissions by replacing some of the hydrogen in the front end of the ammonia plant with green hydrogen, KBR and Casale report on revamp options to increase the capacity of vintage ammonia plants in the former Soviet Union, Johnson Matthey presents a novel integrated ammonia flowsheet for the production of ammonia, methanol, urea and UFC and Arvos | Schmidtsche Schack discusses the benefits of a new process gas boiler.
Methanex has said that, in light of the uncertainty in the global economy from the Covid-19 pandemic, it will defer approximately $500 million of previously announced capital spending on its $1.4 billion Geismar 3 methanol project for up to 18 months. Geismar 3, which is intended to eventually produce 1.8 million t/a of methanol, will be placed on temporary “care and maintenance” for up to 18 months, enabling the company to complete the project when market conditions improve. Methanex says it will spend $100 million in Q1 2020 and a further $200 million from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 on the project, the majority of which is spending that occurred or was committed during Q1 2020. This is approximately $500 million lower than the $800 million that was expected to be spent over that same period. Construction activity and procurement of non-critical equipment and bulk materials will be suspended until market conditions allow the Geismar 3 project to restart.
The Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR) is a World Bank sponsored programme to end wasteful and CO2 - intensive flaring of natural gas from oil production and stranded shale wells, and has been looking to small-scale methanol and GTL projects as a way of utilising this gas for productive ends.