Home / Event / Confirmed papers

Confirmed papers

The full agenda for CRU Nitrogen + Syngas 2024 is now available. This year's conference features a record 83 technical papers and will have a strong focus on sustainability, in particular the role nitrogen and syngas will play in the energy transition.

You will be able to explore cutting-edge discussions on energy efficiency, low-emission technologies; and low-carbon, blue, and green ammonia, blue hydrogen and methanol production. NEW for 2024: Take part in dedicated workshop on Low Carbon Projects, and a session entirely dedicated to Digital Tools for Process Design, Production, Plant Monitoring, and Operator Training, offering an unparalleled insights into the future of industry innovation.

Additional tracks will continue the conference's long tradition of sharing operational experience and lessons learned from operators working in ammonia, urea and nitrates facilities.

Download the confirmed papers View the full agenda


1. Plant Operations and Materials of Construction

Case Study- Process Gas Cooler Failure Analysis in Ammonia Plants

Abu Qir Fertilizers & Chemical Industries

Abu Qir Fertilizer Co. (AFC) owns and operates three ammonia plants. A waste heat recovery boiler “Process Gas Cooler (PGC)” is installed downstream the secondary reformer in each plant. A repeated tube failure and tube-sheet propagation of some cracks were occurred in PGC of AFC II (Stiffed type). The diagnosis revealed that the failure is mainly related to the thermal cycle over 30 years from thermal shocks during startups and shutdowns, as well as the restriction of water circulation at the back of the tube sheet (steam blanketing) which led to Dry – Wet conditions. The paper presents the actual operating problems experienced in process gas cooler in two ammonia plant in Abu Qir and the root cause analysis of their failure. it also highlights on the main critical issues have to be considered and carefully reviewed in process gas cooler designs.


Lessons Learned during root cause analysis to fix Operational Challenges of two Ammonia Plants in Nigeria

Indorama Eleme Fertilizers Limited

Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Limited (IEFCL) operates state-of the art Fertilizer complex in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

The paper will discuss challenges and solutions connected with:

  • Foaming Problem in CO2 removal Section
  • Frequent variation in Primary Reformer draft
  • Conductivity variation in Package Boiler steam
  • Tube leakage in Syn loop steam generator (A-123-C1)

Shifting CO2 Injection Point from Synthesis Loop to Steam Methane Reformer Inlet in a Methanol Process

SABIC 

The presentation will focus on a Steam-Methane-Reformer (SMR) based methanol plant, where the stoichiometric number (defined as SN=H2-CO2/CO+CO2) is higher than optimum value for methanol synthesis application due to the reforming chemistry. The excess H2 in methanol synthesis loop ends up as unconverted gases and has to be purged out and used as fuel in reformer. Injecting CO2 in a methanol process is an effective and proven way to reduce the stoichiometric number and effectively convert waste CO2 into a value-added chemical (methanol). As a result of such practice, overall energy utilization in the plant can be optimized by either maintaining same production level with less energy consumption or increasing methanol production capacity. 


Maximizing the storage of liquid ammonia in large-scale flat-bottom tanks

Linde GmbH, Linde Engineering

Linde is operating a 30.000 m³ Full Containment Ammonia Storage Tank in KSA and has since designed and constructed various further ammonia storage tanks

As the use of liquid ammonia continues to expand beyond the fertilizer industry to an attractive hydrogen and energy carrier, there is a growing demand for even larger storage sizes, nearing those of LNG.

Ammonia Storage tanks are not new and have been built for decades. However, the mere sizes that are planned to be built in the coming years, pose new challenges to ensure the safety and integrity of these storage tanks.


Case study - High-Silica Content Refractory Lined Secondary Reformer

Engro Fertilizers Limited

Engro Fertilizers Limited , Pakistan recently experienced an unexpected refractory failure in their secondary reformer which had a satisfactory operation & maintenance history. The presentation describes an operational problem encountered by Engro Fertilizers Limited, Pakistan involving unexpected refractory failure in their secondary reformer. Discussion will also be carried out on root cause failure investigation, inspection and repair activities performed during the unplanned plant shutdown.


Unexpected Cooling Water Ingress to Ammonia Converter Catalysts: Successful Recovery and System Improvement

PT Petrokimia Gresik

PT Petrokimia Gresik is a fertilizer company in Indonesia that recently established a new ammonia plant with a 2000 MTPD nameplate capacity commissioned in 2018. In 2020, the ammonia plant encountered an unscheduled shutdown due to an external power failure that led to the syngas compressor turbine 103-JT overhaul. After plant re-startup, it was found that the ammonia converter had been oxidated. It was later discovered that this was caused by cooling water ingress during the overhaul activities. This paper will explain how cooling water ingress happened in 2020 and how we overcame this issue to continue the plant operation at maximum load. The subject ammonia converter is horizontal type with 3 main beds.


Reliability of reformer outlet systems

Quest Integrity NZL Ltd.

The presentation covers how various components of the hot outlet collection system change and/or accumulate damage, particularly metallurgical changes that occur due to operation at elevated temperatures and the effects of in-service loading. It is important for operators to be aware of the metallurgical changes and damage that can occur for the hot outlet collection system during operation as these may not have been accounted for in the design. There is a need to understand the useful remaining life of these components to ensure continued safe operation and reliability, especially for aging plants. One aspect that the abstract highlights is around the difficulties operators face when determining the fitness for service of manifolds due to limitations in available/published materials data. Improvements that may be implemented to ensure continued safe operation and reliability is generally mentioned in the abstract.


2. Digitalisation: Digital Tools for Process Design, Production, Plant Monitoring and Operator Training. Climate and Circularity Objectives

Remote Condition Monitoring of Ammonia Plants

thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG

The presentation will focus on new digital solutions for efficient production, quick troubleshooting and high online times.

An example of an ammonia plant in the MENA region is used to describe the process of data gathering, processing and report preparation. Electronic control systems are standard for the operation of chemical plants. As a side effect these systems produce lots of data.

One thing they can be used for, is to run a process simulation in parallel to the actual operation of the plant, provided a mathematical model for the process in the plant exists and all measurements for its input are available.

Another use is the statistical evaluation of the historic data. For actual operation, optimization and troubleshooting usually only the most recent data are necessary and are used by the operator.


Driving Operational Excellence at Ammonia Plant through INSITE®

KBR

As a licensor of ammonia technology, KBR has deployed a cloud-based, performance monitoring and advisory service (KBR INSITE®) at several ammonia plants across the globe. One such successful deployment is at PT Panca Amara Utama (PAU) which is located in the remote island of Sulawesi in Indonesia.

PAU operates a KBR licensed Purifier plus based Ammonia plant which was commissioned in 2018 and since then PAU and KBR have collaborated closely and effectively through the INSITE program. The overall goal, through this program, is to drive towards digitally enabled, reliable and efficient operations to maximize the value of client’s assets throughout the entire operating lifecycle.


Easy and consistent onboarding of operators through Enhanced Reality technology

Voovio Technologies SL

The process industry has been blessed with an abundance of software and technology solutions that have transformed the way assets are managed and maintained, using data to enable predictive maintenance and other operational benefits. The industry faces challenges of attracting and retaining skilled workers, dealing with the loss of equipment and procedure knowledge from experts retiring or general employee turnover, and upskilling workers quickly and effectively.

Digital twins have been part of this successful asset intensive focus, yet most chemical and refining companies are failing to utilize digital twins for building workforce competency more efficiently and effectively.


Opportunities and limitations of applying AI machine learning for optimization of syngas plants

Navigance GmbH

The paper outlines the journey of a large European fertilizer producer to enhance their daily operation routine with AI optimization tools. Starting from one cloud-based solution to monitor plant performance KPIs in real time to applying cutting-edge machine learning models that enable operators to continuously optimize the plant operation.

Digitalization is transforming the approach to daily process optimization in chemical manufacturing. While most chemical producers recognize the benefits digital technologies can bring in areas such as plant availability and process optimization, the pace of adoption is still slower than in other industries and its implementation is a journey for every plant.

 A big barrier to successful digital projects can often be finding the time or people to spare from day-to-day operations to build and deploy the right solution. Many producers lack the in-house data-science expertise to ensure both: a clear use case and the right solution put in place to realize available technology to its full potential.


Digital technologies supporting the pathway to develop green fertilizers

Siemens

The European Union's ambitious decarbonization plan, geared towards accelerating the transition while ensuring supply security in Europe, can gain substantial support from recently established fertilizer facilities powered by green hydrogen derived from renewable energy and electrolyzers. These facilities have the capability to produce green ammonia, which can then be utilized to produce nitrogen-based fertilizers.

Digital process twins provide a virtual environment to test these interactions, informing better process design, integration, and tools for real-time process optimization, aligning with environmental and economic dynamics. This research showcases how digital process twins can explore integration concepts within the green fertilizer value chain.


3. Green, Blue and Low Carbon Ammonia

Addressing Challenges and Dispelling Myths About Blue and Green Hydrogen and Ammonia

Engro Polymer & Chemicals Ltd

There are a number of challenges and myths associated with blue and green hydrogen and ammonia. This paper will discuss those and provide the facts and actions; and will provide a strategic roadmap for the existing operators.

The presentation addresses the challenges faced by existing operators in transitioning to blue and green hydrogen and ammonia production, showcasing the importance of operational experience in navigating this transition.

While the concept of transitioning to cleaner fuels like blue and green hydrogen is not new, the presentation contributes novelty by providing practical guidance and insights specific to existing operators.


The importance of tailoring Carbon Capture design to optimize plant Capex and improve system efficiency

NextChem Tech SpA

The presentation will deep dive in the necessity to reduce the environmental impact of industrial production sites in the recent years through accelerated decarbonization strategies and the possibility to install Post-Combustion Carbon Capture units in new or existing assets, which has become one of the key elements to achieve the target to minimize plants carbon footprint.

In the installation of such units, it is possible to identify multiple technical solutions that would tailor the implementation of the Carbon Capture unit by optimizing the number of equipment and increase the system efficiency, minimizing the relevant OpEx.


Low Carbon H2 & N2 at large scale for NH3 production

Linde Emgineering GmbH

The presentation will showcase Linde’s building and operating its own complex which will include autothermal reforming with carbon capture, plus a large air separation plant. The new complex will be integrated into Linde’s extensive US Gulf Coast industrial gas infrastructure. It will supply clean hydrogen and nitrogen to OCI’s 1.1 million ton per annum blue ammonia plant, the first greenfield blue ammonia facility of this scale to come onstream in the United States. Linde will supply OCI with clean hydrogen by sequestering more than 1.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. The project is expected to start up in 2025.This Setup can potentially also be applied in other regions like the Middle East.


Unlocking Blue Ammonia: A Strategic Approach to Upgrading Existing Ammonia Facilities

BD Energy Systems LLC

The transition towards a carbonless future places ammonia at the forefront, serving as a carrier of hydrogen or a clean fuel in its own right. This positioning offers ammonia producers a limited timeframe to capitalize on the emerging lucrative market of premium qualified ammonia products. While the establishment of grassroot projects for blue and green ammonia entails extended schedules and high costs, the strategic revamping of operational ammonia plants to produce blue ammonia presents a compelling business case.

BDES proposes upgrading existing ammonia facilities to produce blue ammonia, showcasing our understanding of the operational aspects of ammonia production and optimization. The incorporation of benchmarking, efficiency enhancements, and the introduction of various blue technology features reflects our operational expertise in ammonia plants.


A novel Carbon Capture approach based on Hot Potassium Carbonate for the Ammonia Industry

Giammarco-Vetrocoke

The CO2 Removal from syngas is an essential and critical step in the production of ammonia, hydrogen, biofuel, and SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel). The choice of CO2 removal technology impacts the entire production process as it affects sustainability, costs, consumption, layout, and the balance of the plant.

Furthermore, the fight against climate change requires industrial sectors to minimize their carbon footprint. In this regard, the role of carbon dioxide capture technologies becomes even more crucial: the potential of CO2 Capture amounts to 120 MTPA for Blue Ammonia, Blue Hydrogen products.

The presentation focuses on the performance of CO2 capture systems from flue gas using HPC (Hot Potassium Carbonate) solutions in terms of:

  • Environmental impact, thanks to the use of inorganic-based solutions.
  • Tailored Layouts, based on specific plant boundary conditions.
  • Possibility to extract high-temperature heat from the process


The most efficient use of green hydrogen molecules in ammonia synthesis

Johnson Matthey

The synthesis of ammonia is an energy intensive process, consuming 2% of global energy production and generating around 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The urgency to develop decarbonised ammonia has never been greater with the intent of improving the energy efficiency that is translated in lower operational pressure.

Johnson Matthey recognises these challenges and has developed solutions helping to achieve decarbonised (green) ammonia. Novel green ammonia synthesis processes driven exclusively by renewable energy often consider ammonia synthesis at low pressure sometimes using high activity ruthenium-based catalyst which are both sensitive and expensive. However, recent studies performed by the University of Cambridge shown that KATALCO™ 74-1 series as an iron-based catalyst with a cobalt promoter can operate in regimes that could apply in such novel green processes where pressures and temperatures may be lower than conventional processes.

 

Dynamic ammonia synthesis

Haldor Topsoe A/S

Fluctuating and variable renewable source of energy adds a different dimension on the availability and flexibility needs of a new grass root green ammonia plant. Due to the variability of feedstock, traditional way of designing and operating an ammonia plant will lead to a situation of unreferenced operating model with high variability which can cause mechanical stress failures.

The dynamic ammonia technology is new with a very novel flexibility and ramping rates, which are critical for the green plants and solves very real operational problems for green plants operating on fluctuating renewable power.

 

H2Magallanes: A Journey to a Future of Green Ammonia

TotalEnergies

Ammonia (NH3) is vital to support the world population as a means of agricultural fertilizer. Recently, NH3 has also been considered as favorable carbon-free H2 carrier. Having a high boiling point of -33°C (at atmospheric pressure), NH3 can easily be liquefied compared to natural gas (-160°C) and hydrogen (-253°C). Therefore, making liquefied NH3 less technically challenging to transport.

TEH2, a new joint-venture established between TotalEnergies (TTE) and EREN Groupe, has secured large private lands in the Magallanes region (South of Chile near the city of Punta Arenas) that benefits from very good onshore wind conditions with access to the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. The high wind capacity factor in the area, and the possibility of generating large-scale wind power (full field ~ 9-10 GW installed capacity) offers the possibility for the production of green hydrogen.


4. Ammonia Shift Conversion Catalysts and Plant Performance

Enhancing Reliability and Performance in Ammonia Plant Operations: Managing Waste Heat Boiler Leaks and Catalyst Preservation

Petrokimia Gresik

The presentation provides a detailed account of the operational challenges faced during the startup of an ammonia plant. It discusses the issues encountered, such as the waste heat boiler leakage, high CO slip and pressure drop  in the High Temperature Shift Converter, and the steps taken to successfully resolve these issues.

It provides specific data such as the pressure drop and CO slip percentages, which adds to the credibility and objectivity of the information.

The presentation also demonstrates how the solutions improved the performance and efficiency of the ammonia plant.


Reactivation of Shift Conversion Catalyst which Undergoes Unprecedented Oxidation Due to Air Exposure & Water Submersion

PT Pupuk Kujang

The presentation examines ammonia plant operational issues and troubleshooting. On March 18th 2023, Ammonia Plant 1A of PT Pupuk Kujang was operated at a rate of 100% before a sudden vacuum system problem occurred and caused severe speed fluctuation in all compressors especially the Syngas Compressor (103-J) experienced surging accompanied by rapid increase of vibration.

A thorough inspection found several damages including fracture of the feed preheater coil, leak of the 103-C tube, and some of HTS & LTS catalyst was broken down into powder. These findings indicate that HTS & LTS catalyst was exposed to air and submerged in Boiler Feed Water that subsequently resulting an unprecedented overheating higher than catalyst’s sintering temperature due to oxidation. Corrective maintenance was carried out on damaged units without any replacement due to unavailability of either catalyst or spare unit of the coil. This paper will demonstrate how the feed preheat coil was repaired and how to reactivate HTS & LTS catalysts. Thereafter, Ammonia Plant 1A is able to be operated at 100% rate with CO content outlet LTS of slightly less than 0,3% and Methanator typically less than 0,25 ppm.


Introducing KATALCO™ 71-7F most robust HTS catalyst ever!

Johnson Matthey

The high temperature shift duty within an ammonia plant can face operational stresses leading to reduced performance, lower efficiencies and potential for unplanned shutdowns.

KATALCO 71-7F can demonstrate improved robustness, its enhanced strength leads to a stronger pellet limiting pressure drop increase across the catalyst bed.

The presentation will focus on the development of KATALCO 71-7F, sharing experience from recent references, and the value add demonstrated with highly stressed plants.

5. Ammonia Cracking: Process, Technology and Optimisation

Low Energy Intensity Ammonia Cracking

T.EN Netherlands B.V.

The speaker will present Ammonia Cracking technology by Technip Energies explaining the performance of the system and highlighting the past experience and expertise from which the particular ammonia cracking technology has been derived. In addition to that, the paper will showcase  our efforts to improve the high energy efficiency technology and Technip Energies’ offering to the market within the coming years.

The particular technology has been developed by taking advantage of the existing IP protected technologies of Technip Energies. In parallel to that, by combining the knowledge and expertise, Technip Energies has significantly improved the conventional ammonia cracking technology by elevating the energy efficiency of the system to new heights.


Ammonia Cracking Technology: the response to the global energy transition challenge

Casale SA

The world calls for a drastic transformation of the entire energy sector towards a carbon-neutral economy able to ensure a secure, competitive and sustainable energy system in the long term by 2050.

Covered by two different patent pending applications, Casale Ammonia Cracking Technology is capable to cover a wide range of hydrogen plant capacity providing the highest single train plant capacity available on the Market of plus 1300 MTPD very high pure hydrogen.

This paper highlights the importance of the ammonia cracking technology to deliver a pathway to large scale sustainable hydrogen production through the highly efficient Casale Large-Scale Ammonia Cracking Technology solution.


Accelerating process optimization and catalyst ranking in high-pressure NH3 Cracking enabled by advanced high throughput technology

hte GmbH

The presentation will introduce the most advanced high throughput approach to accelerate catalyst screening and optimize the NH3 cracking process, addressing the significant research gap in studies combining high temperature and pressure. A versatile 16-fold parallel fixed-bed reactor setup from hte was used, featuring high-temperature reactor technology designed for elevated pressure operation and inhibiting blind activity. To conclude the integrated workflow, the unit is equipped with precise online gas chromatography (GC) analytics and tailored software solutions for efficient big data handling.


Introducing H2 RetakeTM  ammonia cracking technology

Topsoe A/S

This presentation describes Topsoe's novel ammonia cracking technology, H2RetakeTM as well as Topsoe's long-standing operational experience in ammonia cracking. The presentation will show how the 96% energy efficiency and 96% hydrogen yield of the process can be obtained, and how some shortcomings of certain catalysts employed can be resolved.


Optimization of the Ammonia Decomposition Process

thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG

The presentation describes the technical options for the ammonia decomposition process and their energy efficiency and CO2 intensity which – among others – also depend on the selection of the heat source. It discusses the pros and cons of centralized and localized hydrogen production under the aspects of safety and economic viability. Furthermore, the different requirements on hydrogen purity are discussed.


Technology development & demonstration of Integrated Control System for Green Ammonia & Chemical Production, and Ammonia Cracking

JGC Corporation

New Project Presentation

JGC Holdings Corporation (JGC) and Asahi Kasei Corporation (Asahi Kasei) have jointly applied for recognition of a project entitled “Large-scale Alkaline Water Electrolysis System Development and Green Chemical Plant Demonstration” (the Project) under the “Green Innovation Fund/Hydrogen Production by Water Electrolysis Using Renewable Energy” envisioned to be carried out in the fiscal 2021-2030 period by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), and the project has been accepted.

JGC has developed GAPAOTM (Green Ammonia Plant Automated Optimizer) software to optimize the configuration of green ammonia plants, which will contribute to achieve Lowest Cost of Ammonia production, in early design phase. We are expanding this tool to be applied with other products, such as methanol.

Our target is to develop large-scale, high-efficient, and zero-emission cracking system, at the order of 100,000 ton-H2/year capacity for commercial plant around 2030.


World Scale Ammonia Cracking

Johnson Matthey

Ammonia cracking is an endothermic reaction with characteristics similar to those of steam methane reforming (SMR). As a result, large scale ammonia crackers are likely to bear more than a passing similarity to the steam-methane reformers which are currently used to convert natural gas to hydrogen.

Ammonia is increasingly being seen as an energy carrier due to its hydrogen component. The market is looking at ways to crack ammonia to utilise the hydrogen in a number of low carbon technologies.


6. Urea and Melamine: Process, Technology, Emissions Control  and Plant Energy Efficiency

Urea Revamp Activities in Urea plants

thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH

The increase of urea plants capacity is in the centre of the presentation. The licensors provide various basic concepts for different capacity increase ratios. Furthermore, Uhde can independently provide smaller capacity increases of up to 10% by debottlenecking.

The significant advantage of Uhde’s proprietary process using ammonia is that the CO2 is made available already at high pressure as required for the urea synthesis (e.g. 150 bar). Today, Direct Air Capture becomes available with still small capacities of CO2 to produce a green urea from green ammonia. 

Besides capacity increase, emission reduction is of interest for revamps and can help to increase the plant output as well. Acidic scrubbings with nitric acid, sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid drastically reduces ammonia emissions in synthesis and granulation as demonstrated in Uhde plants.


Novel High-Efficiency Self-stripping Urea Process

Casale SA

The Casale presentation delivers novel solutions for “ammonia-“or “self-“ stripping process which has been a valid alternative to the CO2-stripping process for the industrial synthesis of urea since its introduction in the 70’s.

Following the demand for ever more efficient urea production plants, particularly from markets characterized by high cost of utilities, Casale has developed an improved self-stripping process to further lower the demand of medium-pressure steam and cooling water. The main innovation consists in an additional carbamate decomposition step upstream the conventional Medium-Pressure section.


Energy Reduction at Yara Urea Plant in Ferrara Italy

Yara Belgium SA/NV

Yara presentation will  showcase how to improve the energy efficiency of existing plants.

2 projects have been selected to revamp and improve:

One with Casale Switzerland: to reduce the Urea Plant process consumption by installing heat recovery, optimize the main process parameters and the steam network, reducing the steam imports from the CO2 compressor steam turbine and stop venting LP steam.

One by replacing the CO2 compressor steam turbine condensing type with a counterpressure type, integrated in the ammonia steam network.

The results obtained after project implementation in 2015/2016 lead to more than 40% reduction of the total energy consumption per Gj/MT urea.


Mechanical Design of Ultra Low Energy Reactor for large capacity urea plants

Stamicarbon

Stamicarbon successfully introduced the Ultra-Low Energy (ULE) reactor concept with the commissioning of two ULE urea plants in 2021. Both plants had a name plate capacity of 2334 mtpd. Leveraging on the excellent corrosion resistant properties of Safurex, the mechanical design of the ULE reactor entails a double bundle connected to an internal tubesheet.

This concept however is only suitable for plant capacities up to 2500 mtpd urea plants. Therefore Stamicarbon developed new design for plant capacities above 25000 mtpd and the first large capacity ULE plant with a name plate capacity of 3850 mtpd is licensed in 2022.

In this presentation the conceptual design of the new ULE Poolcondenser will be highlighted.


Compact urea plant for green hydrogen and CO2 valorization

Saipem SpA

The novelty of Saipem's article is the new approach to small scale urea plants which, depending on Client's needs, can be integrated with technologies in Saipem's portfolio for green hydrogen production and CO2 capture.

Small scale green urea is particularly fit for ADBlue production, thus supporting the automotive sector in the reduction of NOx emissions.

Thanks to its worldwide expertise in onshore and offshore plants, CO2 transportation and renewable plants, Saipem can deliver integrated green solutions to meet client needs in the most challenging environment.


Enhancing the Quality Control Management for Urea-Free Flowing Products

PT Petrokimia Gresik

The widespread utilization of urea fertilizer, both within Indonesia and on a global scale, underscores its paramount importance in the agricultural sector. In Indonesia, the government dedicates a substantial portion, precisely 59%, of its fertilizer subsidies, equivalent to an annual volume of 4.64 million tons, to urea.

The presentation identifies operational problems associated with urea products, including particle segregation, caking during handling, and customer complaints about dusty products. It then outlines the solutions implemented by Petrokimia Gresik's task force team, which include the new caking test method, improved storage practices, and time modelling. These solutions directly address operational problems in the production and distribution of urea fertilizer.


7. Blue Hydrogen

Low Carbon Intensity Ammonia using LCH hydrogen technology

Johnson Matthey

New technology. This presentation highlights JM's progress with low carbon hydrogen projects globally and how it fits into the ammonia flowsheet.

Low carbon hydrogen will be the future of the industry, decarbonising syngas production. This presentation will demonstrate JM's progress in this area.

Uniquely, the JM technology is well suited for the import of electrical power, offering assets that will be deployed for the long term the opportunity to benefit from increasingly decarbonised power grids to decarbonise further in the future.


1000 MW Clean hydrogen using efficient & reliable KBR Blue Hydrogen process

KBR UK Ltd

Hydrogen is one of the key solutions for addressing global warming, climate change, and energy security challenges.

The presentation focuses on design of 1000 MW Blue hydrogen plant which shall be located in European region, and explains the key aspects of producing hydrogen at a large scale using combination of KBR's steam methane reforming technologies. The key for the design has been to limit the equipment dimensions based on typical market-available sizes while maintaining the reliability, flexibility, and efficiency of the process.

This flow scheme also describes an inherently safe route for generating hydrogen while offering a distinct advantage in terms of maximum hydrogen yield, lowest energy consumption and emitting minimum CO2 per ton of hydrogen product into the atmosphere.


8. Methanol: Processes, Technologies, and Catalysts

G-Methanol Technology

Toyo Engineering Corporation

Toyo Engineering Corporation (TOYO), a global leading engineering contractor as well as syngas related technology provider, currently engages in Energy Transition focusing on various area, including Green Methanol (g-Methanol🄬), Blue/Green Ammonia and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), utilizing own technologies as well as licensor’s technologies. Among them, g-Methanol🄬 technology is developed based on long experience as a licensor of conventional Methanol technology which is derived from fossil fuels. Due to growing concern about industrial CO2 emission, the feedstock of methanol production is likely shifting to CO2 and hydrogen from electrolysis.

Also, such so-called low carbon Methanol is rapidly focused as Marine Fuel.CO2 based methanol synthesis would bring an advantage to TOYO’s unique proprietary MRF-Z🄬 Reactor since the temperature profile can be easily optimized by a suitable cooling tube arrangement to trace the maximum reaction rate line. TOYO will introduce our g-Methanol🄬 technology.

State-of-the-art methanol synthesis catalysts fostering the transition to Green Methanol Clariant Catalysts


Improved approaches optimise the cost of ownership for catalysts

Siemens

The presentation discusses practical applications and real-world use of advanced process modelling (APM) and model-based techniques in the hydrocarbon processing industries. It describes how APM is applied to streamline analysis and optimize catalyst development, considering operational data and real-time operating conditions.

The innovative use of APM and model-based techniques to optimize catalyst development and enhance the entire catalyst life cycle is the focus of the presentation. It emphasizes the novelty in applying modelling at various stages, from laboratory testing to commercial plant operations, to improve catalyst performance and reduce costs.


9. Fertilizers Finishing

Mitigating Urea Caking and Quality Degradation through Optimized Handling Procedures

Petrokimia Gresik

Petrokimia Gresik Urea Plant, with a production capacity of 3125 MTPD across two units with ACES and ACES21 technologies, distributes prilled Urea products, bagged or in bulk via trucks or cargo vessels.

The presentation showcases extensive operational experience by identifying and analysing a real-world problem the Petrokimia Gresik Urea Plant faces regarding Urea caking and quality degradation. The systematic investigation and the solutions devised reflect a deep understanding of the operational intricacies and the mechanical handling processes involved in Urea production and distribution.

The innovative solutions proposed, like optimizing mechanical mixers' arrangement, refining loading procedures, and employing a non-stacking policy, display a novel approach to resolving the longstanding issue of Urea caking. Additionally, the comprehensive strategy devised to tackle the issue from multiple angles shows a novel, holistic approach to problem-solving.

Enhanced control on the prilling process using vibro prilling

Kreber B.V.

In this talk the focus will be on finding solutions to narrowing the particle size distribution, which can address known operational issues in existing prilling plants. We will discuss the basics of jet breakup, how it can be influenced and paint a comparative picture between conventional prilling in industrial fertilizer production.

Vibro prilling is a concept to gain control on the jet break up mechanics, where well-controlled periodic fluctuations (hence the name vibro) are added to the liquid flow to induce jet breakup and control the resulting PSD to be narrow. This has positive effects on the product and process quality where the standard deviation of the PSD is theoretically reduced, which can lead to less satellite droplet formation which is emitted as particulate matter from the top of the tower and a theoretical increase in heat transfer efficiency. In addition larger D50 can be manufactured in the same tower.


CAN Wet Scrubber Systems : Illusion or Reality ?

Socrematic

The production of CAN Fertilizers leads to various emissions which should be treated with well-designed gas cleaning equipment as to meet local environmental regulations , ensure product recovery, and obtain a near zero waste effluent system.

Socrematic will present the design and installation of the relevant scrubber systems, while the operation and maintenance  aspects over a 5 year period also will be discussed.