Canadian Fertilizers Ammonia
Production Process
Producing ammonia requires five major steps to convert air, water,
and natural gas into anhydrous ammonia. These are raw materials
preparation, hydrogen generation, process gas purification, ammonia
synthesis, and refrigeration.
Ammonia production facility
Raw Materials Preparation: to begin the process, air is filtered and
compressed, water is clarified and demineralized, and natural gas is
heated and desulfurized.
Hydrogen Generation: steam and natural gas are fed into a Primary
Reformer, a reactor furnace containing several hundred alloy tubes
filled with catalyst. The catalyst promotes the chemical reaction of the
mixture. The products of this reaction – hydrogen, carbon oxides, and
un-reacted steam and methane – are directed to a Secondary
Reformer, where compressed air is added to produce what’s called
process gas.
Complex control center
Process Gas Purification: the process gas next flows through highand low-temperature Shift Converters, which convert the carbon
monoxide into carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen. CO2 is removed
from the process gas; a portion of it is recovered for use in the
production of urea.
The remaining purified process gas, a 3-to-1 mixture of hydrogen and
nitrogen called synthesis gas, is used to produce ammonia.
Ammonia Synthesis: the synthesis gas is compressed and circulated
through an Ammonia Converter, where each pass through the
synthesis catalyst converts a portion of the gas to ammonia.
Refrigeration: condensed by refrigeration, ammonia is then removed
from the synthesis gas. The product is withdrawn in a “warm” stream
at 13° C (used for urea production) and as a “cold” liquid at minus 33°
C (sent to storage).
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Maintaining quality control
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