INDIAN FARMERS FERTILIZER COOPERATIVE LTD.

AONLA UNIT (BAREILLY)

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING REPORT ON AMMONIA PLANT

submitted towards partial fulfilment
of
Bachelor of Technology
(2018-2022)

SUBMITTED BY:
AVIRAL GUPTA
(V.T. No: 98)
[Link] CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
HARCOURT BUTLER TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
KANPUR
 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project, though an individual project, wouldn’t

have been possible without the constant help and
guidance of a few individuals. Their support has been
vital to the completion of the project.

At the outset, I would like to thank Mr. Harish Rawat

(Manager – Training department) for providing me with
the opportunity to do my training at IFFCO.

I wish to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Mr.

Pradeep Porwal who was abundantly helpful and offered
invaluable assistance, support and guidance.

Also, special thanks to Dr. Ashwini Sood (Training

and Placement Incharge, HBTU Kanpur) for providing
his assent to this training.
 3

PREFACE

Industrial Training is important for an engineering

student as it helps him to correlate his theoretical
knowledge with the practical atmosphere and thus
enable him to emerge as an engineer, the industry can
rely upon in future.
Thus, the training aims at the following:

 Familiarising a student with the industrial

environment.
 Helping him visualize the studied text by
practicing it in real time scenario.
 Increasing his awareness on the needs and the
latest advancements in industry.
 Helping him explore his own field of
interest.

IFFCO Aonla provided me with all the necessary means

and methods to fulfil the above mentioned
aims/objectives of the training. I am positive that
this knowledge of mine shall turn out to be of use in
future.
 4

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

HIGHLIGHTS OF AONLA UNIT 6

AMMONIA PLANT 7

NATURAL GAS 11

DESULPHURIZATION SECTION 12

REFORMING SECTION 15

SHIFT CONVERSION 22

CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL SECTION 27

METHANATION 29

AMMONIA SYNTHESIS SECTION 31

AMMONIA WASH SECTION 40

FLOWCHART FOR MANUFACTURE OF AMMONIA 42

UTILITIES 44

CONCLUSION 47
 5

INTRODUCTION
Indian Farmers Fertilizers Co-operative Limited (IFFCO) was
established on 3rd November,1967 as a multi-cooperative
organization with broad objectives of augmenting fertilizer
production, ensuring fertilizer availability at the farmer’s
doorstep, strengthening, guiding the farmer for improving
agricultural activity and rural economy.

IFFCO’s five most modern plants are located at Kalol, Kandla,

Phulpur, Aonla and Paradeep. IFFCO produces around 36% of all the
Phosphatic and 21% of all the Nitrogenous fertilizers produced in
India.

IFFCO has presence in Canada, Senegal, Oman, Argentina, Peru,

Dubai and Jordan. Besides fertilizers, IFFCO has diversified into
sectors like General Insurance, Rural Mobile Telephony, Oil & Gas
and International Trading.

Aonla unit of IFFCO is one of the six natural gas-based fertilizer

plants to be setup in the country on HBJ pipeline coming from
Hazaria. The site 18 KM south-west of Bareilly-Aonla Road.

The Aonla unit consists mainly of Ammonia plant, Urea plant and
other off-site facilities like water supply and treatment systems.
Inert gas plant, instrument air compressor, bagging plant,
laboratory, and product storage facilities are also located here.

The Aonla unit, an Ammonia-Urea complex, is subdivide into two

phases; Aonla-I and Aonla-II. The total capacity of the unit
including both phases is 1148400 MTPA having two streams of
Ammonia and four streams of Urea. Aonla-I was commissioned in May
1988 and Aonla-II in December 1996. Both Aonla-I and Aonla-II are
achieving average annual capacity utilization of 100%.
 6

HIGHLIGHTS OF AONLA UNIT

Particulars Aonla-I Aonla-II

Capacity (per annum) Capacity (per annum) Capacity (per annum)

 Ammonia  6.07 lakh  6.07 lakh
 Urea  10.05 lakh  10.05 lakh

Project Zero Date 08.01.1985 30.09.1993

Mechanical Completion 08.01.1988 30.11.1996

Ammonia Production 15.05.1988oducton 13.12.1996oducton

commences comm nces comm nces

Urea Production 18.05.1988Product 26.11.1996Product

commences ion commences ion commences

Commercial Production 16.07.1988 25.12.1996

begins Prodction b egins Prodction b egins

Project Cost (in 660 C ost 995 C ost

Crores) (in Crores) (in Crores)

Guaranteed specific Guaranteed specific Guaranteed specific

energy per energy per energy per
 MT Ammonia  8.07 Gcal.  7.54 Gcal.
 MT Urea  5.76 Gcal.  5.59 Gcal.

Plant Technology Plant Technology Plant Technology

 Ammonia Haldor Topsoe, Denmark
 Urea Snam Progetti, Italy
 7

AMMONIA PLANT
IFFCO Aonla consists of two Ammonia plants each having a capacity
of 1740 Te/day. The Ammonia produced by these plants is used for
the production of Urea. The required Carbon dioxide gas is also
produced by the Ammonia Plant. So, the two important gases Ammonia
and Carbon dioxide for the production of urea are produced by the
Ammonia Plant. This plant is based on the Haldor Topsoe
technology.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS UNITS

Ammonia is produced from a mixture of Hydrogen(H2) and

Nitrogen(N2) where ratio H2 to N2 is kept approximately 3:1.
Besides these two components, the syn gas also contains inert
gases such as Argon(Ar) and Methane(CH4) to a limited degree. The
Hydrogen is formed by reacting natural gas and stream at high
temperatures and the nitrogen is supplied from the air.
Natural Gas(NG) is supplied by GAIL through pipelines from Bombay
High/South Basin. NG is also used as fuel after letting down to
lower pressure. In case of unavailability of NG, Naphtha is used
as fuel. The Ammonia Plant is designed for a hydrocarbon feed in
the form of NG.

The manufacture of Ammonia involves the following steps:

 Desulphurization
 High Pressure Catalytic Steam Reforming
 Watergas Shift Reaction
 CO2 Absorption and Stripping
 Methanation
 Ammonia Synthesis
 Refrigeration
 8

Desulphurization
Hydrocarbon feed is completely desulphurized in the
desulphurization section.

High Pressure Catalytic Steam Reforming

The desulphurized hydrocarbon feed is reformed with steam at a
pressure of 40 kg/cm2g. The product gases contain mainly H2, N2,
CO, CO2 and CH4.

Watergas Shift Reaction

In the gas purification section, CO is first converted into CO and
H2 with steam (shift reaction) in two steps, in order to increase
the H2 yield.

CO2 Absorption and Stripping

The CO2 present in the Process Gas is absorbed in Giammarco
Vetrocoke(GV) solution in CO2 Absorption System and is then
stripped with the help of steam for reuse.

Methanation
The residual CO and CO2 is converted into CH4 after reaction with
H2 in the Methanation Section

Ammonia Synthesis
The gas is then sent to ammonia synthesis loop through syn gas
compressor where it is compressed to about 200kg/cm2g and Ammonia
is produced. From this section Liquid Ammonia is sent to Urea
Plant or Ammonia Storage Tank.

Refrigeration
Liquid NH3 is also used as refrigerant in refrigeration loop to
cool the syn gas to separate Ammonia and also to chill Ammonia
upto -33oC when required.
Natural 9
Gas
Desulphurizer

Primary
Carbon To Urea Plant
Steam Reformer
Dioxide

Secondary CO Shift CO CO & CO2 Synthesis & To Uses

Air Reformer Converter Absorber Methanator Refrigerant Section

Ammonia
Storage Tank

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE UTILITY UNITS

A number of utility functions have also been installed in order
to:
 Ensure the independency of outside sources other than water,
electric power, hydrocarbon feed and fuel.
 Meet environmental requirements and
 Reduce the consumption of raw materials.

Process Condensate Stripping

Section removes contaminants such as CO2, CH3OH, and NH3 by direct
steam injection before the condensate is sent for treatment in the
polisher unit outside the Ammonia Plant battery limit. Ammoniacal
water is used as part of process stream in the reforming section.

Steam Generation System

Section consists of HP steam generation system. HP/MP let-down
station, MP/LP let-down stations along with the import export of
HP, MP and LP steam.
 10

Cooling Tower
Section supplies cooling water for various coolers. It consists of
a cooling tower having 8 cells along with chemical treatment
facilities and 4 pumps used for pumping cooling water into the
plant. This unit is under off site section.

Flare System
It consists of a flare stack and a pilot burner arrangement. All
inflammable gases from the front end are sent through the flare
headers to the flare stack during start up and shutdown and in
case of any upset in process.

Demineralized Water Storage

It consists of DM water storage tank, turbine condensate polishing
unit and DM water pumps. The DM plant treats the raw water.

Effluent Treatment Unit

Unit has been designed to treat, or to collect for treatment of
various sorts of effluents outside the battery limit of the
Ammonia Plant. Such as
 Effluents containing Chemicals
 Effluents containing Oils

Instrument Air Drying Unit

Supplies instrument air to various control valves, for aeration in
GV system and at some place as sealing fluid.
 11

NATURAL GAS
Natural Gas is supplied at the Plant battery limit at 42 kg/cm2g.
The plant is designed (for 1740 MTPD Ammonia) on the basis of 100%
lean natural gas or a mixture of lean natural gas. The composition
of lean natural gas is as given below.

Analysis Rich Lean

Mole % Mole %
Methane(CH4) 78.84% 98.39%
Ethane(C2H6) 7.23% 1.40%
Propane(C3H8) 4.59% 0.10%
Butane(i-C4H10) 0.88% -
(n- C4H10) 1.10% -
Pentane(i-C5H12) 0.26% -
(n-C5H12) 0.24% -
Hexane(C6H14) 0.26% -
CO2 6.49% -
N2 0.01% 0.1%
O2 0.10% 0.01%

Sulphur (ppm, vol.) as H2S normal 10 ppm (vol.)

Design 50 ppm (vol.)

Pressure (Kg/cm2g), min./max. 39/45

Temperature(oC), min./max. 15/30

Lower Heating Value (Kcal/Nm3) 9683 Rich / 8652 Lean

Main part of the gas is used as feed stock to the Primary

Reformer. The natural gas is also used as fuel in primary reformer
and in Steam Super heater. After preheating of NG to 160oC, part
of NG is let down to 4.0 Kg/cm2g to be used as fuel in Primary
Reformer and Auxiliary Steam superheater. Remaining part of NG to
be used as feed is preheated first in Natural Gas Preheater to the
395oC which is required for desulphurization.
 12

DESULPHURIZATION SECTION
The Natural Gas feedback which may contain upto 10 ppm (by volume)
sulphur compounds, in the form of sulphides, mercaptans,
thiophenes etc. must be desulphurized, as Primary Reformer
Catalyst. The Low Temperature Shift Converter Catalyst are very
sensitive to sulphur. The sulphur compounds act as poison to these
catalysts.
The desulphurization of natural gas takes place in two stages:
 Hydrogenation
 Sulphur Absorption
The Hydrogenation takes place in the Hydrodesulphurization(HDS)
Reactors; Hydrogenation operates at an inlet temperature of 380-
395oC. After hydrogenation, the H2S absorption takes place in the
two ZnO Absorbers connected in series. After desulphurization, the
sulphur content of the hydrocarbon feed will be less than 0.05 ppm
(by volume).

Hydrogenation
The hydrogen required for the hydrogenation is supplied as recycle
gas from the Synthesis Gas Compressor first stage discharge and
added to the natural gas.
The HDS Reactor R-1201 is equipped with one catalyst bed of 1850
mm height, containing 8.9 m3 of Ni-Mo based catalyst (TK-251). The
TK-251 catalyst which is installed as 5 mm rings is especially
suitable for hydrogenation of gas containing carbon oxides, due to
low tendency of temporary deactivation.
The catalyst in HDS Reactor, hydrogenates organic sulphur
compounds to H2S as per the following reactions:

RSH + H2 RH + H2S

R1SSR2 + 3H2 R1H + R2H + 2H2S

R1SR2 + 2H2 R1H + R2H + H2S

 13

COS + H2 CO + H2S

C4H4S + 4H2 C4H10 + H2S

where “R” is the radical of hydrocarbon

Besides the above-mentioned reactions, the catalysts also

hydrogenate olefins to saturated hydrocarbons and organic nitrogen
compounds. To some extent they also convert into ammonia and
saturated hydrocarbons. Operating on natural gas containing
sulphur, the catalyst will pick up sulphur to about 6% by weight
when fully sulphided. At this point an equilibrium exists between
the sulphur in the catalyst and the sulphur in the gas. If the
sulphur content of the natural gas decreases below 1-2 ppm,
sulphur will be released from the catalyst.
The most advantageous operating temperature of hydrogen is between
380oC and 395oC and the hydrogenators are operated at these
temperatures during normal operation. In case of old catalyst,
temperature may be maintained at 400oC to get proper
hydrogenation.
However, at lower temperatures the hydrogenation will not be
complete, and at temperatures above 400oC polymerization products
may be formed on the surface of the catalyst.
The presence of CO, CO2 and water vapours in the hydrogenated gas
will influence the absorption equilibrium composition in the
subsequent absorption vessels unfavourably. With CO2 or CO in the
hydrocarbon feedstock or in the recycle H2, the following
reactions will take place in the HDS reactors:

CO2 + H2 CO + H2O

CO2 + H2S COS + H2O

Both reactions are forming water vapour. In order to minimize the

formation of water and thereby minimizing the slippage of COS and
H2S from the ZnO Absorbers, the inlet temperature of the HDS
Reactors should be 390oC. At high concentrations, CO will
decompose according to the following reaction:

2CO C + CO2
 14

Carbon formed in this way will deposit inside the catalyst as

soot. When sulphided, the Methanation activity of HTZ-5 is very
low.

Sulphur Absorption
The outlet streams from the HDS Reactor at 39 Kg/cm2g and 380-
395oC are mixed and the hydrogenated hydrocarbon gas is fed to the
two ZnO Absorbers, R-1202 A and R-1202 B, connected in series.
Each reactor has one catalyst bed with a height of 3600 mm
containing 27.66 m3 (13.83 m3 each) of catalyst, type HTZ-5. This
ZnO catalyst is installed as 4 mm extrudates and the normal
operating temperature is between 380-395oC. In the reactor the ZnO
reacts with hydrogen sulphide and carbonyl sulphide, according to
the following equilibrium reactions:

ZnO + H2S ZnS + H2O

ZnO + COS ZnS + CO2

Fresh catalyst or sulphided catalyst reacts neither with oxygen

nor with hydrogen at any practical temperature. Zinc sulphide is
not pyrophoric and no special care during unloading is required.
Steaming operation should not be carried out on R-1202 A/B as
the zinc oxide will hydrate and it would consequently not be
possible to regenerate the ZnO material in the reactor.

 In the reformer feed gas, Sulphur shall be less than 0.05

ppm.
 15

REFORMING SECTION
In the reforming section the desulphurised gas is converted into
raw ammonia synthesis gas first by the catalytic reforming of the
hydrocarbon mixture with steam in Primary Reformer and then by the
addition of air in the Secondary Reformer.

PRIMARY REFORMER
First step of the steam reforming process takes place in the
Primary Reformer, H-1201. In H-1201 the hydrocarbon and steam
mixture, which is preheated to 530oC, is passed downwards through
vertical tubes containing catalyst. The desulphurised gas at 36.5
Kg/Cm2g and 390oC is mixed with superheated MP steam to get a
steam to carbon mole ratio of 3.0. The mixture of natural gas and
steam is preheated in coils E-1201 & E-1201A in waste heat
recovery section of the Primary Reformer.
The outlet temperature of E-1201A is 540oC. The preheated natural
gas and steam from here goes directly to Primary Reformer, at a
pressure of 34.8 Kg/cm2g. Normal operating conditions at inlet to
Primary Reformer are:

NG feed flow : 44814

Steam flow : 108.143 Te/Hr.
Pressure : 34.8 Kg/cm2g
Temperature : 530.C
Steam/Carbon ratio : approx. 3.0 - 3.3

The Primary Reformer is a fired heater where the sensible heat and
the heat of reaction are transferred by radiation from a number of
wall burners to the catalyst tubes. There are total 576 side fired
burners in two fired radiant boxes. On each box there are 288
burners arranged in six rows on each side of the box having 24
burners in each row. In order to ensure complete combustion of the
fuel gas the burners are operated with an excess air of about 5%,
 16

which corresponds to 0.9% (approx. 1.0 %) of oxygen in the flue

gas.

The steam reforming process can be described by the following

reactions:

1) CnH2n+2 + H2O + Heat Cn-1H2n-2 + 3H2 + CO

2) 2CH4 + 3H2O + Heat CO + CO2 + 7H2
3) CO + H2O CO2 + H2 + Heat

The shift reaction (3), requires only little heat, whereas the
heat required for reactions (1) and (2) will quite dominate the
picture.

The exit temperature of the Primary Reformer is about 793oC, which

is also the inlet temperature to the second step of the reforming.

Carbon Formation:
In the tubular Primary Reformer, carbon formation is not possible
under the foreseen operating conditions. However, the carbon
formation can occur under following conditions:

a) If the catalyst is poisoned, for instance by sulphur, it will

lose activity and carbon formation may occur.
b) If the catalyst has been insufficiently reduced, or if it has
become partly oxidized during production upsets without
subsequent reduction, carbon formation may take place.
c) If the hydrocarbon feed has a high content of olefins,
aromatics or naphthenes, carbon formation may occur. However,
this possibility is less with natural gas but more in liquid
hydrocarbons. Carbon formation would immediately result in
higher pressure drop and may also form hot bands on the
tubes.
d) Very low steam to gas ratio.
 17

Variables in the reforming reaction:

The following parameters in general affect the exiting methane
content from the primary reformer

Temperature: Higher reforming temperature reduces the CH4 and CO2

content in the effluent gas.

Pressure: High reforming pressure results in considerable saving

of the power consumption in the synthesis gas compression but
shall result in higher methane content in the effluent gases. An
operating pressure of approximately 34.8 kg/cm2g inlet of the
Primary Reformer give a reasonable economic compromise.

Steam Carbon Ratio: The operation of the reforming system is most

economical at conditions closely approaching the design steam to
carbon ratio of 3.0 at the inlet of Primary Reformer. However, the
increase in steam to carbon ratio will favour the reforming
reactions and shall result in the decrease of methane content and
carbon monoxide contents and increase in carbon dioxide and
hydrogen content in reformed gas. Approximate analysis of the gas
exiting Primary Reformer when lean natural gas is used as feed
stock is given below:

Dry Basis Volume %

H2 67.52

N2 0.37

CO 9.16

CO2 9.92

Ar 0.01

CH4 13.03

Steam/Dry gas 0.67

 18

Flue Gas Waste Heat Recovery Section:

During normal operation conditions, the flue gas leaving Primary
Reformer is having a flow rate of about 260914 Nm3/h at a
temperature of 1019oC which is cooled to about 170oC in various
coils of the Convection Section before being emitted through the
stack, by means of the Flue Gas Blower, K-1201. The flue gas
passes through the Convection Section where the sensible heat of
the flue gas is transferred to the different heat recovery coils.
The Reformer Convection Section comprises of ten coils placed in
the following order in the flue gas path.

[Link] Temperature Name of the Equipment TemperatureHeat

of flue Heater Coil No. of process (Gcal
gas at fluids /hr)
outlet of inlet/outlet
each coil (oC)
(oC)

1. 1019 Process Gas & E-1204 A 525/540 -

2. 850 Process Gas & E-1204 A 378/525 14.08

3. 796 Process Air E-1202 A 330/535 4.45

4. 657 HP Steam super E-1203 A 355/406 13.94

5. 636 Natural gas E-1204 A 318/395 2.03

6. 454 HP Steam super E-1203 B 322/365 17.32

7. 416 Process Air E-1202 B 160/330 3.55

8. 374 NG Preheater E-1204 B 161/318 3.88

9. 210 Combustion Air E-1205 B 67/263 14.71

10. 170 NG Preheater E-1204C/1-3 30/161 3.46

 19

Combustion Air Supply:

The combustion air to the side fired burners is supplied by
Combustion Air Blower after preheating to about 263oC in the
Combustion Air Preheater. In order to ensure complete combustion
of fuel, slight amount of excess air of 5% is always maintained in
outgoing flue gases. 5% excess air corresponds to about 0.9% of
oxygen in flue gas (on wet basis). It is important to have surplus
of oxygen in the flue gas as the reformer tubes require a non-
reducing atmosphere.

Reduction of the Catalyst:

Activation of the R-67-7H catalyst is carried out by means of
hydrogen during initial start-up of the reformer. The anticipated
source of hydrogen for reduction purpose is methane, which in the
presence of steam will be converted in hydrogen in the upper part
of the tubes at a temperature ranging from 530oC (at the top of
the reformer tubes) to 770oC (at the bottom of the reformer
tubes). This hydrogen reduces the nickel oxide of R-67-7H to
metallic nickel and the reduction progresses down through the
catalyst tubes. The temperature required for the reduction is
about 600oC. During the reduction of the catalyst, it is
recommended to operate with a steam/gas ratio of approx. 6-8.

Maintaining the Reformer Catalyst:

 Excessive steaming of the catalyst at elevated pressure
and/or temperature should be avoided to the extent possible.
 Sulphur reacts with the metallic nickel, forming nickel
sulphide. This causes deactivation of the catalyst, and
consequently a risk of carbon formation.
 Carbon formation is not possible when the Primary Reformer is
operated at the chosen conditions. If, however, the catalyst
loses activity, due to poisoning, it is very important to take
immediate action in order to prevent carbon formation.
 It is important not to operate the reformer with too low
steam to carbon ratio, as this gives thermodynamically a
possibility for carbon formation, especially inside the
catalyst particles.
 20

 After slight sulphur poisoning, the catalyst activity may be

restored by operating the Reformer for a few hours with
sulphur free feed.
 Also salt droplets present in the steam, for instance, NaCl
and Na3PO4 and compounds containing heavy metals are poisonous
to the reformer catalyst. For this sort of poisoning no
regeneration will work. Condensing water shall be avoided on
the hot catalyst as it will integrate the catalyst.

Secondary Reformer
In the Secondary Reformer, R-1203, the process gas is mixed with
air. Partial combustion takes place in the top part of R-1203
which causes a considerable increase in temperature. The
combustion of Process Gas with oxygen in air gives a gas
temperature of 1100oC-1200oC in the upper part of the Secondary
Reformer. From the "combustion chamber" the gas passes down
through a catalyst bed, where reforming takes place with
simultaneous cooling of the gas. The temperature of the process
gas leaving the Secondary Reformer is about 965-975oC and the
Methane content is approximately 0.57 mole% (on dry basis).
In principle, the exact air flow rate is determined by the desired
Hydrogen to Nitrogen ratio in the make-up synthesis gas to the
Ammonia synthesis loop. The ratio of hydrogen to nitrogen should
be close to 3:1. The partially reformed gas from the Primary
Reformer enters the Secondary Reformer at inlet chamber
tangentially through transfer line at 770oC. The flow is directed
downward around a centrally located air inlet pipe and reaches
combustion zone of Secondary Reformer. Process air supplied by
Process Air Compressor, K-1421, is preheated to 535oC in two
Process Air Preheaters E-1202 A & B located in the convection
section of Primary Reformer.
 21

The reaction with air in Secondary Reformer combustion zone is as

follows:

3H2 + 1.5O2 + 3.715N2 2H2O + 3.715N2 + H2O

2CH4 + 1.5O2 + 13N2 CO2 + CO + 4H2 + 13N2 + Heat

The approximate composition of the gas leaving Secondary Reformer

is as follows:
GAS MOLE%
H2 55.39
N2 23.55
CO 13.10
CO2 7.11
CH4 0.57
Ar 0.28
Steam / dry gas 0.477

Heat Recovery from Reformed Gas:

The exit gas composition indicates the possibility of carbon
formation as per Boudouard Reaction
2CO CO2 + C (as soot)
The carbon formation can only take place at a temperature below
721oC at outlet of Primary Reformer and below 776oC at outlet of
Secondary Reformer, because of the equilibrium conditions. The
lower limit for the reaction is 650oC as the reaction rate becomes
too slow at lower temperatures. Consequently, it is important to
pass the temperature range from 776oC to 650oC reasonably fast,
and also contact between gas and hot metallic surfaces is to be
avoided, so that metal dusting corrosion does not take place.
Cooling of the process gas is carried out in the HP Waste Heat
Boiler where the exchanged heat is used for production of the high
pressure steam necessary in the Ammonia Plant. The boiler is
designed to obtain the rapid cooling but a too high heat
flux is to be avoided, as it may cause film boiling on the
SHIFT CONVERSION
steam side which in turn would decrease the heat transfer
coefficient significantly.
 22

SHIFT CONVERSION
The process gas leaving the reforming section contains
approximately 13.0 vol% carbon monoxide which is converted into
carbon dioxide and hydrogen by means of the shift reaction

CO + H20 CO2 + H + Heat

As indicated by this equation, most of the carbon monoxide is

converted to carbon dioxide gaining an additional mole of hydrogen
per mole of carbon monoxide. The heat of reaction gives
approximately 65oC temperature rise when gas passes through
catalyst bed. The shift reaction takes place in the three CO Shift
Converters, HTS (R-1204), LTS GUARD (R-1206) and LTS (R-1205) with
process gas cooling after each converter.

During normal operation, the following conditions prevail:

Units Temperature Temperature CO in/out

In (oC) Out (oC) (Dry mole)

R-1204 356 428 13.0/2.7

R-1206 220 238 3.03/0.64

R-1205 195 220 0.64/0.16

The above reaction is reversible and equilibrium is favoured at

low temperature while rate of reaction is favoured by high
temperature. For achieving maximum conversion of CO to CO2
reformed gas is first passed through High Temperature Shift Guard
Converter and finally to Low temperature Shift Converter. The
optimum temperature for the shift reaction depends on the activity
of the catalyst and the quantity of the gas handled.
 23

High Temperature CO-Converter

The High Temperature CO Converter contains a total of 85.2 m3 of
CSK-GG (4.0 m3) top bed & C-12-4 (81.2 m3) catalyst in two beds,
each 2350 mm high. The catalyst is chromium oxide promoted iron
oxide in the form of pellets 6 mm high and 6 mm in diameter.
The operating temperature and pressure of HTS Reactor is 356oC
(IN)/ 428oC (OUT) and 31kg/cm2 respectively.
The catalyst is installed in its highest oxidized state and the
reduction (activation) is carried out by means of process gas
containing hydrogen. The reduction will take place at a
temperature ranging from 250oC to 350oC. Activated C-12-4
catalyst may be continuously operated in the range of 310 –
470oC. Initially, the catalyst operates at a gas inlet
temperature of about 350oC. Later on with ageing, the optimum
inlet temperature will be higher, but as long as the outlet
temperature has not reached 460oC, the activity will decrease
only slowly.
Chlorine and inorganic salts are poisons to the catalyst. The
content of chlorine in the gas should be well below 1 (one)
ppm. However, since the reforming and low temperature shift
catalysts are much more sensitive to these contaminants, they
are always removed to a level well below the tolerance limit of
the C-12-4 catalyst. The catalyst is not affected by sulphur in
the quantities present in the plant. The fresh catalyst
contains, however, a small amount of sulphur as sulphate which
will be depleted as H2S during the first 36-48 hours of
operation.
Heating in condensing steam will not harm the C-12-4 catalyst
in any way. However, the hot catalyst should not be exposed to
liquid water, since it may disintegrate the catalyst. As the
activated catalyst is PYROPHORIC, it shall be handled with care
during unloading.
Approximate analysis of the GAS MOLE%
gas leaving High Temperature H2 59.36
Shift Converter is as follows: N2 21.45
CO 3.03
CO2 15.38
CH4 0.52
Ar 0.26
Steam / Dry 0.345
gas
 24

Low Temperature CO Guard Converter

LTSG was installed as Energy saving scheme with the purpose of,
to protect LTS from any poisonous gases along with increasing
CO conversion closer to equilibrium.
The Low Temperature CO Guard Converter contains 16.0 m3
catalysts in one bed. A thin layer of chromium based catalyst
is placed on top of the first bed, which will act as a chlorine
guard catalyst, while the remaining is made up of an alumina
based catalyst. The catalysts consist of oxides of copper, zinc
and chromium or aluminium.
The LTSG catalyst is operated at 220oC. Gas leaving High
Temperature CO Converter is cooled first in Waste Heat Boiler,
and in Trim Heater both operating in parallel. The total gas
and steam flow entering the Low Temperature CO Guard Converter,
is about 319677 Nm3/hr (237506 Nm3/hr in dry basis) with a
content of 3.03 mole% (on dry basis) carbon-monoxide. The
process gas enters the top of the converter at 220oC
Approximate analysis of the gas leaving Low Temperature Shift
Guard Converter is as follows:

GAS MOLE%
H2 60.31
N2 20.95
CO 0.64
CO2 17.34
CH4 0.25
Ar 0.51
Steam / Dry 0.308
gas

Low Temperature CO-Conversion

The Low Temperature CO Converter, R-1205 contains 114.2 m3
catalyst in two beds which are of 3160 and 2850 mm height. A
layer of 6 m3 chromium based catalyst (C-18-G) is placed on top
of the first bed, which will act as a chlorine guard catalyst,
while the remaining 108.2 m3 will be made up of alumina based
 25

catalyst (C-18-7). The catalysts consist of oxides of copper,

zinc and chromium or aluminium.
As the catalyst is extremely sensitive to sulphur which may be
liberated not only from the upstream HTS catalyst but also to a
certain extent from the refractory lining and the secondary
reformer catalyst during the first period of operation, the LT
shift converter is by-passed during this stage, until the gas
is practically sulphur free.
Besides sulphur, chlorides and gaseous silicon compounds are
also severe poisons. In order to give an idea of the poisoning
effect of such compounds on the catalyst, it is indicated that
the activity of the catalyst will be minimized considerably by
a sulphur pick-up of 0.2 wt% and by a chlorine content of 0.1
wt%.
The LTS and LTSG catalyst is activated at 150-200oC in nitrogen
containing 0.2-2% hydrogen. During the reduction, the copper
oxide reacts with the hydrogen to yield the formation of free
copper.
Under no circumstances the hot LTS catalyst to be exposed to
liquid water, as this would disintegrate the catalyst. As the
catalyst is pyrophoric in its reduced state, special
precautions have to be taken during unloading.

Based on LTS Guard two situations are possible:

 LTS Guard Not in line: The LTS catalyst is operated in

the temperature range of 170"C-250"C. Gas leaving High
Temperature CO Converter is cooled in Waste Heat Boiler, E-
1207, and in Trim Heater, E-1209, both operating in
parallel.
The process gas enters the top of the converter at 195oC

The total gas and steam flow entering the Low Temperature CO
Converter, R-1205, is about 319000 Nm3/hr (237508 Nm3/hr in Dry
basis) with a content of 2.74 mole % (on Dry basis) carbon-
monoxide.
 26

 LTS Guard in line: Gas leaving LTS Guard is cooled in BFW

Preheater (E-1250). The process gas enters the top of the
converter at about 195oC. The total gas and steam flow
entering the Low Temperature CO Converter, R-1205, is about
319000 Nm3/hr (243146 Nm3/hr in Dry basis) with CO content
of 0.64 Mole% (on Dry basis). The process gas leaves the
converter at about 197oC and 30 kg/cm2g with CO content of
0.16 Mole % (on dry basis). The process gas from R-1205
outlet is cooled in the BFW preheater, E- 1211 A/B. The
process gas inlet temperature to the carbon dioxide removal
section is 161oC. The inlet pressure is controlled by
12PRC-61 acting on the two vent valves, (12 PV-61/1 and 12
PV-61/2, installed in series).

The CO-leakage from the CO-Conversion section is 0.16 mole% on

dry basis and is measured and recorded by 12 AR-31.

Operating variables of the Shift Reaction

Temperature: If the reaction is near equilibrium, a decrease in
temperature will improve conversion, and if it is away from
equilibrium, a temperature decrease will reduce the rate of
reaction. Inversely, if the reaction is near equilibrium, an
increase in temperature will result in loss of conversion.

Steam: Normally increase in steam to gas ratio, helps better

carbon monoxide conversion.
 27

CARBON DIOXIDE REMOVAL SECTION

Carbon dioxide is removed by absorption in hot aqueous
potassium carbonate solution containing approx. 27wt% potassium
carbonate(K2CO3) partly in the form of K2CO3 and partly in the
form potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3). The solution further
contains Glycine and Di Ethanol Amine as activators and
vanadium pentaoxide as corrosion inhibitor. The reason for
keeping the solution hot is to increase the rate of absorption
and keep the bicarbonate dissolved. Another advantage is that
the temperature is approximately the same in the absorber and
in the regenerators i.e., the boiling point temperature of the
solution at the pressure prevailing in each of the two
regenerators.
Thus, it is not necessary to supply heat to the solution before
the regeneration.

The normal composition of fresh solution is:

K2CO3 27% w/w

Glycine 1.2% w/w
Di Ethanol Amine 1.0% w/w
Vanadium 0.4% w/w

Vanadium - Using vanadium as a corrosion inhibitor

DEA & Glycine - Using as activators

The Absorption of CO2 by GV solution involves the following

reaction-
K2CO3 + H20 + CO2 2KHCO3

The carbonate concentration directly affects the removal of the

bulk CO2 and the solution circulation rate.
 28

The process gas from the shift reactors is passed to the

GV Absorber, F-1302, which contains stainless steel packing
material distributed in four beds.
In the Absorber, the gas flows upwards, against a descending
stream of HPC solution. Approximately 15% of the solution is
introduced above the top bed at 60oC, whereas the remainder is
introduced at about 107oC below the two top beds.

The CO2 absorption occurs according to the following reaction

mechanism:

(1) CO2 + H20 HCO3- + H+

(2) CO3-- + H20 HCO3- + OH-

(3) CO3-- + CO2 + H20 2HCO3-

The reaction rate of (3) is determined by reaction (1) which is

the slower step of reactions (1) and (2). The activator action
resulting in an increased rate is caused by the quick transfer
of gaseous CO2 into the liquid phase by means of the Glycine
carbamate formation according to the reaction:

(4) H2NCH2COO- + CO2 -OOCNHCH

2COO
- + H+

The activator effect is much higher than the one relating to

carbamate concentration. At high temperature and in the
presence of OH- the carbamate is hydrolysed and the activator is
restored according to the reaction:

(5) -OOCNHCH2COO- + H20 H2NCH2COO- + HCO3-

The sum of reactions (4) and (5) gives reaction (1). As

reactions (4) and (5) take place continuously, it means that
the Glycine acts as a CO2 carrier. Reaction (5) is the
hydrolysis of Glycine carbamate. This reaction is catalysed by
a small amount of DEA in the solution.
 29

METHANATION
The process gas (approximately 201881 Nm3/hr) from the carbon
dioxide removal section still contains about 0.05 vol% CO2 and
0.19 vol % CO (on dry basis). As the carbon oxides are
poisonous to the Ammonia synthesis catalyst, it is converted
into methane in the Methanator, R-1311, by use of hydrogen. The
reactions involved are the reverse of the reforming reactions:
CO + 3H2 CH4 + H20 + Heat

CO2 + 4H2 CH4 + 2H20 + Heat

The determining parameters for the Methanation reactions
besides the activity of the catalyst are the temperature, the
pressure and the steam content of the process gas. Low
temperature, high pressure and low steam content tend to favour
the methane formation.
Within the recommended temperature range of 280oC to 400oC. The
equilibrium conditions are, however so favourable that it is
practically only catalyst activity which determines the
efficiency of the Methanation. The activity of the catalyst
increases with increasing temperature, but the lifetime of the
catalyst is shortened.
As indicated above, the two Methanation reactions are
exothermic and in normal operation the temperature rise is in
the order of 20oC. The inlet temperature to the Methanator is
about 280oC and due to the heat of reaction, the outlet
temperature is about 305oC.
The approximate analysis of process gas are as follows:

Gas Methanator Methanator

component In Out
H2 70.48 73.28
N2 25.35 25.55
Ar 0.3 0.31
CH4 0.62 0.86
CO 0.2 <10 ppm
CO2 0.05 <10 ppm
 30

Methanation Catalyst:
The Methanator, R-1311. has been provided with two catalyst
beds, each 2650 mm high, containing a total of 25 m' catalyst.
Initially only the upper bed is loaded with 30 m PK-5 catalyst.
The PK-5 is a nickel catalyst containing approx. 27% nickel.

The Methanation reaction starts at about 250"C, causing at

temperature increase in the catalyst beds. The increase of
temperature depends on the contents of CO and CO2 in the
process gas. The temperature increase will be approx. 60"C and
75oC per mole% CO2 and CO converted respectively.

In order to ensure sufficiently low content of CO and CO2 in

the effluent gas, the inlet temperature will typically be
within 280oC to 320oC, depending on the catalyst activity and
the gas composition. The Methanation catalyst should not be
exposed to temperatures above 420oC for extended periods of
time.

The catalyst is very sensitive to arsenic, sulphur and chlorine

compounds. Steam without hydrogen will oxidize the catalyst and
should therefore not be used for heating, cooling, or purging.
Furthermore, the catalyst should not be exposed to condensing
steam as it will disintegrate.

Deactivation of the catalyst may be due to:

 Thermal ageing, due to high concentration of CO or/and CO2

in the inlet gas, to R-1311.
 Gradual poisoning by impurities in feed gas.
 Malfunctioning of the CO2-removal system (GV-Section)
resulting in carry over GV solution.

During its life time the catalyst will lose some activity which
is compensated for by increasing the inlet temperature.
Catalyst activation is carried out simply by heating in normal
process gas. The content of CO and CO2 in the gas used during
activation should be as low as possible, preferably below 2
mole % CO + CO2 in order to minimize the temperature rise.
 31

AMMONIA SYNTHESIS SECTION

The ammonia synthesis takes place in the Ammonia Synthesis
Converter, R-1501, according to the following reaction.

3H2 + N2 2NH3 + HEAT

The reaction is reversible and only a part of the hydrogen and

nitrogen is converted into ammonia by passing through the
catalyst bed. The conversion or the equilibrium concentration
of Ammonia is favoured by high pressure and low temperature. In
R-1501 only about 33% of the nitrogen and the hydrogen are
converted into Ammonia. Gaseous ammonia is condensed by cooling
and chilling then separated as liquid Ammonia. The unconverted
part is recycled to the converter after separation of the
liquid ammonia product.

Syn Gas Compression:

Synthesis gas compressor (K1431) consists of two casings of
three make up stages and one recirculation stage. The makeup
synthesis gas is about 199292 Nm3/hr is mixed with about 6194
Nm3/hr H2 from PGR enters E1351 get cooled down up to 11C.
Before entering 1st stage of the Synthesis Gas Compressor gas
passes through K O Drum B-1312 for final condensate removal.

The makeup synthesis gas leaves K-1431 at 190 kg/cm2g and 38.5oC
and is cooled down to 28oC in Make Up Gas Chiller, E-1514 before
mixing with the recirculating gas after First Ammonia Chiller,
E-1506. This reduces the temperature of the recirculating gas
to 22.8oC. The final condensation of Ammonia takes place in
Second Ammonia Chiller, E-1507 where the gas is cooled to 11oC.
The gas then passes to B-1501 for separation of liquid ammonia.

In the second stage the makeup Synthesis gas at 38.C and 54.5
kg/cm2g is compressed to 98 kg/cm2g and 123oC. It is then cooled
in Second Intercoolers, E-1432 A/B. The condensed moisture is
separated n Separator, B-1432.
 32

The first and second stage of compression takes place in the LP

case. The HP case comprises of third stage of the makeup gas
compression and the recirculator.

In the 3rd stage, make up synthesis gas is compressed from

98kg/cm2g and 38oC to 190 kg/cm2g and 160oC. The makeup gas is
first cooled in the Third Intercooler, E-1433A/B to 38oC. The
condensed moisture is separated in Separator, B-1433.

The makeup synthesis gas at 11.9C is compressed in first stage

to 54.5 kg/cm2g from 25.0 kg/cm2g. Then the gas is cooled in
First Intercoolers, E-1431 A/B where the gas is cooled to 38 C
from 101oC. The condensed moisture from gas is separated in
Separator B-1431.

Ammonia Separation and Synthesis Gas

Recirculation:
The gas/liquid mixture is separated in the Ammonia Separator,
B-1501. During normal operation about 643430 Nm3/hr of synthesis
gas leaves the top as recirculating gas and about 72646 Nm3/hr,
(62377 kg/hr) of liquid ammonia (with PGR ammonia) leaves the
bottom of B-1501. The re-circulated synthesis gas leaves the
top of the ammonia separator at 11oC. The gas is preheated to
about 36oC and sent through the recirculation part of the
Synthesis Gas Compressor, where it is compressed from about 188
kg/cm2g to 202 kg/cm2g.

Synthesis Conversion:
The approximate Converters inlet and outlet gas compositions
(on dry basis) are shown below.

Gas R-1501 Gas R-1501 Gas R-1502 Gas

Composition Inlet (Mole %) Outlet (Mole %) Outlet (Mole %)
H2 59.84 47.43 44.11
N2 22.58 18.81 17.8
NH3 5.93 20.52 24.42
CH4 8.1 9.21 9.51
Ar 3.54 4.03 4.16
Mol. Wt. 11.26 12.81 13.22
 33

S-300 converter:
The Topsoe S-300 converter without lower heat exchanger is a
radical flow converter. It consists of a pressure shell and a
basket. The basket consists of 3 catalyst beds and two inter
bed heat exchangers placed in the centre of the first and
second catalyst bed respectively.

The catalyst beds are passed by the synthesis gas in radical

inward direction which assures a very small pressure drop in
the catalyst beds and allows the use of catalyst with the
particle size 1.5-3 mm. Even gas distribution in the catalyst
bed is insured by means of appropriate perforation of the
catalyst bed walls.

A part of the synthesis gas is introduced into the converter

through the inlet (A1) and (A2) at the bottom of the converter,
the main inlet, and passed upwards through the outer annulus
between the basket and the pressure shell, keeping the latter
cooled.

During operation the temperature of the pressure shell (370oC)

is never exceeds. The remaining part of the gas, the cold
bypass gas, is introduced through the bottom central inlet (A3)
and flows upward through the central transfer pipe to the top
of the basket. This cold shot gas maintains first bed inlet
temperature.

S-50 Converter:
Synthesis gas from ammonia converter R-1501 after getting
cooled up to 370oC enters the Topsoe S-50 converter R-1502. Gas
flow in S-50 ammonia converter is CASALE patented axial-radial
type. The axial-radial converters are characterized by a low
linear velocity of the gas. In fact, the bed arrangement offers
a large cross area to the gas passage, so that the pressure
drop across the catalyst bed is strongly reduced.

Synthesis gas from catalyst bed after reacting passes through

annular space between central pipe and catalyst bed travels
 34

downward and leaves the reactor. Normally the inlet temperature

is maintained at 358oC. Normally at a lower capacity, the bed
inlet temperature will be increased. For example, 10-20oC higher
at 80% capacity and 20-30oC higher at 60%.

Factors affecting the operation of Synthesis

Converter:
The ammonia synthesis reaction takes place at elevated
temperature and pressure in presence of a promoted iron
catalyst. The catalyst used is in reduced state and is
distributed in two beds.

Temperature: At the inlet of R-1501 1st catalyst bed, the

minimum temperature of approx. 360oC is required to ensure a
sufficient reaction rate. If the temperature at the catalyst
inlet is below this value, the reaction rate will become so low
that the heat liberated by the reaction becomes too small to
maintain the temperature in the Converter. The reaction will
quickly terminate itself if proper adjustments (lowering the
gas circulation and/or closing the cold shot) are not made
immediately.

On the other hand, it is desirable to keep the catalyst

temperature as low as possible to prolong the catalyst life.
Therefore, it is recommended to keep the catalyst inlet
temperature slightly above the minimum temperature. It is
anticipated that the synthesis gas enters the first catalyst
bed at a temperature of max 400oC. As the gas passes through the
catalyst bed the temperature increases to a maximum temperature
in the outlet from the first bed, which is normally the highest
temperature in the converter, called the "hot spot". The
temperature of the "hot spot" is up to 510oC, but should not
exceed 520oC.

Pressure: Since the synthesis involves a decrease in volume,

rise in pressure favours the reaction equilibrium. At the same
time reaction rate is also accelerated by increase in pressure.
Hence higher pressure favours conversion.
 35

Other factors: Other factors which influence the operation of

the converter includes circulation rate of H2:N2 in the feed
gas, inert contents in the loop, percentage of ammonia into
converter feed and activity of catalyst. All these factors are
interdependent and a change in one will have effect on others.

Cooling of converter effluent gas:

The Converter effluent gas is cooled in six steps before purge
gas removal, and make-up synthesis gas addition. After makeup
gas addition converter effluent gases further cooled once
before separation of condensed ammonia.

The purpose of the cooling which is taking place in the Heat

Exchangers is:

 To recover waste heat for HP steam production and BFW

preheat.
 To preheat the converter inlet gas.
 To save refrigeration energy in the ammonia chillers.
 To cool the synthesis gas to 12oC for removing the ammonia
produced.

The converter effluent gases pass through the tube side of the
six heat exchangers, except Water Cooler, E-1504 where it is
sent through the shell side. The anticipated cooling
temperatures are shown below:

Heat Exchanger Inlet/Outlet

Temp. (oC)
E-1550 Loop Waste 433/370
R-1502 S-50 Converter 370/416
E-1501 Loop Waste 416/342
E-1502 BFW Preheater 342/271
E-1503 Hot Heat 271/72.9
E-1504 Water Cooler 72.9/41
E-1505 Cold Heat 41/30.9
E-1506 First Ammonia 30.9/29
E-1507 Second 22.8/11
 36

In order not to accumulate methane and argon (inert gases)

introduced with the make-up synthesis gas in the synthesis
loop, a small purge gas flow is removed at the outlet of the
First Ammonia Chiller. Downstream of the purge point, the make-
up synthesis gas is added to the outlet flow of the chiller,
where the ammonia is partly condensed.

Calculation of Ammonia Conversion:

Moles of H2 at reactor I/L - Moles of H2 at reactor O/L
Ammonia
conversion
= Total moles of H2 at reactor I/L

To calculate total moles at outlet we will do the mass balance of CH4 + Ar.
On the basis of 100 moles Syn Gas at reactor inlet

100 * (CH4 + Ar) Inlet = X * (CH4 + Ar) Outlet

X (mole of syn. gas at O/L) = 100 * (CH4 + Ar) Inlet / (CH4 + Ar) Outlet

Conversion = [1- {(% H2 at Outlet * X) / (% H2 at Inlet * X)}] * 100

Start-up Heater:
For the initial heating up of the converter feed gas and the
catalyst, the synthesis loop is equipped with the NG fired
Start-Up Heater H-1501, since the ammonia synthesis reaction
starts and proceeds at elevated temperature. Once the reaction
continues to be auto thermal, the heater can be switched off.

Heater is fitted with 4 nos vertically upshot burners and is

designed for a heat liberation of 4.8X106 Kcal/hr. The start-up
heater is able to heat up 28050 Kg/hr (approx. 55800NM3/hr) of
synthesis gas from 280oC to 510oC at 102 Kg/cm2g.
 37

REFRIGERATION:
The purpose of the refrigeration circuit is to carry out the
various cooling tasks to condense the ammonia, which is
produced in the Converter. Other cooling tasks are cooling of
make-up gas, purge gas, let-down gas, and inert gas. 7 chillers
(or evaporators) operating at three different pressures levels
(i.e., 3 "chiller levels"), a Refrigeration Compressor, two
ammonia booster compressors. two Ammonia Condensers and an
Ammonia Accumulator form refrigeration system.

Purification and Product run down:

The liquid ammonia leaving the Ammonia Separator depressurized
from about 202 kg/cm2g to 26 kg/cm2g before entering the Let
Down Vessel, kg/cm2g.

The Let Down Vessel serves as a separator, where the major part
of the Methane and Argon dissolved in the Ammonia is flashed
off as letdown gas. Besides inert, the let-down gas contains
Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Ammonia. The major part of the Ammonia
in the let-down gas is recovered by condensation in the letdown
Gas Chiller and separated in the Separator from where the
Ammonia is returned to the Let Down Vessel.

The liquid ammonia depressurized to 0.01 kg/cm2g, which is the

operating pressure of the Flash Vessel. A part of the liquid
Ammonia is evaporated and fed into the refrigeration circuit.
The rest of the Ammonia is passed to the Ammonia Storage by
means of one of the two Ammonia Product Pumps.

The flash temperature is the saturation temperature

corresponding to the operating pressure. The temperature is
-31oC at 0.01 kg/cm2g.
 38

Refrigeration Circuit:
The circuit provides required cooling in ammonia syn loop and
product purification. The circuit operates at three temperature
(pressure) levels. The three "chiller levels" are distributed
as follows:

1. The high chiller level (7.2 kg/cm2g, 18oC), at which

cooling of make-up synthesis gas and the first chilling of
the recirculation gas takes place.
2. The medium chiller level (4.8 kg/cm2g, 8oC), at which final
condensation of the product Ammonia in the 2nd Ammonia
chiller and cooling of makeup gas in final gas chiller
takes place
3. The low chiller level (0.01 kg/cm2g, -30oC). at which
Ammonia is recovered from the purge gas, letdown gas and
inert gas.

The Flash Vessel, represents the connection between the Ammonia

synthesis loop and the refrigeration circuit and it has two
purposes:

1. To flash off inert gases, which are passed through the

refrigeration circuit to the Ammonia Accumulator, B-1510,
where the main part is removed by purging.
2. To cool down the Ammonia product to atmospheric storage
conditions.

As described in the previous paragraph, the Flash Vessel

operates at 0.01 kg/cm2g and -33oC.

Purge gas and Off gas Circuit:

Off gas is the designation for the combined flow of let- down
gas and inert gas. As already described, the purge gas flow and
the letdown gas flow come from the ammonia synthesis loop
whereas the inert gas comes from the refrigeration circuit.
 39

Purge Gas
The purge gas is chilled to -25oC in the Purge Gas Chiller and
sent to the Knock out Drum. Approximately 700 kg/h of recovered
Ammonia is separated, about 11800 Nm3/h of purge gas is sent to
PGR for recovery of hydrogen which is returned to the suction
of the Synthesis Gas Compressor.

Letdown Gas
The KO Drum receives let down gas at 25 kg/cm2g and -25oC. The
flow of the letdown gas, which is normally about 1138 Nm3/hr
and approximately 263 kg/h of liquid ammonia returns from to
the Letdown Vessel.

Inert Gas
The inert gas flow from the Ammonia Accumulator and Ammonia
condenser is chilled to 12oC in the Inert Gas Chiller where the
major part of the Ammonia is condensed and returned to B-1510
via the Knock Out Drum. It is anticipated that the inert gas
flow passed to the off-gas header is about 200 Nm3/h at 16
kg/cm2g and -25oC.
The following table gives the approximate gas compositions of
the purge, let-down and inert gases after ammonia separation
(in mole %).

Purge Gas Letdown Gas

Hydrogen 57.51 46.4 47.45
Nitrogen 23.18 21.51 21.66
Ammonia 1.64 6.53 6.07
Methane 12.26 19.86 19.15
Argon 5.41 5.7 5.67

The total off-gas (inert gas + let down gas) flow is about 1257
Nm3/h. Although most of the Ammonia is recovered from the gases
before mixing, the off-gas still contains about 6 mole%
Ammonia. The main part of the Ammonia from this is removed in
the Ammonia Recovery Unit.
 40

AMMONIA WASH SECTION

The Ammonia wash section serves to recover most of the Ammonia
contained in the off-gases from both ammonia plants. This helps
to reduce the Ammonia content in the Secondary fuel to the
Primary Reformer.

Ammonia Absorption:
The off gas is introduced at the lower part of the Ammonia
absorber at a pressure of 15 kg/cm2g and a temperature of 30oC.
The gas flows up through the two packed beds filled with 1½”
stainless steel pall rings. From top lean solution enters and
moves downwards. The Inlet temperature of the lean solution is
about 40oC and the outlet temperature of the rich solution which
contains about 11% (wt.) Ammonia is about 35-40oC. The rich
solution from the Absorber is pumped to distillation section.

The approximate inlet and outlet composition of the purge gas

and washed purge gas are shown below:

Off-Gas Washed Gas

H2 63.30% 64.84%

N2 21.44% 21.96%

NH3 2.54% 0.17%

Ar 3.68% 3.77%

CH4 9.04% 9.26%

 41

Ammonia Distillation:
Distillation column is a tower having three packed beds filled
with stainless steel pall rings. It distils out Ammonia from
the rich solution. The rich solution at 20 kg/cm2g pressure and
at 26oC temperature is heated to 170oC measured by 15TI-89 in
Rich/Lean Solution Exchanger E-1523 A/B before it is introduced
above the 2nd bed of distillation column. The overhead product
from Distillation column contains mainly Ammonia vapor along
with some non-condensable gases like H2, N2, CH4 and Ar. Ammonia
vapor are condensed in Ammonia condenser. The controller
maintains a pressure of 19.7 kg/cm2g in the top of column.

The top temperature of Distillation Column is about 52oC. The

lean solution leaves the bottom of the re-boiler at 20 kg/cm2g
and 215oC. During normal operation, the Ammonia content of
purified off-gas has to be 0-2 mole %. An increased content
indicates in-efficient operation and may be due to a lesser
circulation of lean solution which has to be suitably
rectified.
FLOWCHART FOR MANUFACTURE OF AMMONIA 42

Natural gas from GAIL at 38 to 42 kg/cm2g pressure and 15-30oC temperature

Hydrogen
CO2 to
Natural Gas Hydrodesulphurization Urea Plants

Absorption of H2S on ZnO Catalyst (Sulphur Removal)

CDR Unit
Steam

Catalytic Steam Reforming in Primary reformer Flue Gas

from Stack
Process Air

Reforming of Process Gas in the Secondary Reformer by addition of Process Air

Catalytic High Temperature Shift Conversion in HTS (CO  CO2)

Catalytic Low Temperature Shift Conversion in LTSG & LTS Converter  CO2

GV CO2 Removal Section

Carbon dioxide to Urea Plants

Compression of the Synthesis Gas in the Synthesis

Gas Compressor Up to a pressure of 200-220 kg/cm2

Ammonia Synthesis in the Ammonia Synthesis……?

Refrigeration Section (Liquid Ammonia is used as Refrigerant)

Liquid Ammonia to Storage Tanks at

4-7kg/cm2g pressure and -28 to -33oC

Hot Ammonia (at 25-27 kg/cm2 and 2-15oC) to Urea Plants

 43

Total production rate of ammonia = 2x75 Ton/hr (BOTH UNITS)

Carbon di oxide = 2x46500 Nm3/hr (BOTH UNITS)

The Ammonia and carbon di oxide produced in Ammonia plant is

used by the Urea plant for the Urea production. In case of any
disturbance in Urea plant, the Ammonia of both streams from the
Ammonia plant is sent to the Ammonia storage tank each having
storage capacity of 10000 MT. A sample of Ammonia produced is
also sent to the laboratory section for the purity test.
 44

UTILITIES
Apart from raw material, production of ammonia and urea
requires various utilities viz: power, steam, cooling water,
instrument air, inert gas, Ammonia storage facility. For this
purpose, various plants have been functioning.

Steam and Power Generation Plant:

To meet the continuous power supply needs of the main plants,
captive power plants and steam generation facilities have been
provided. In this plant, two gas turbines each having the
capacity of 18MW along with heat recovery steam generation unit
has been provided to cater to the plant needs of power and
steam.

Raw Water and Water Treatment:

As steam generation requires DM water, water treatment plant
treats the raw water to remove minerals and other dissolved
salts. This DM water is used for steam generation in boilers.
Six units of water treatment plant each having the capacity to
produce 140 m3/hr of DM water have been provided to supply of
the DM water for all the boilers of the complex. Six condensate
polisher units of 120 m3/hr capacity each have also been
provided to conserve and recycle contaminated condensates.

Cooling Towers:
The cooling water requirement of Ammonia, Urea and Power Plants
and offsite facilities is met by four induced draft type
towers. Cooled water is circulated from cooling towers to
various heat exchangers in the plants and the returned hot
water is cooled down in cooling towers and gets cooled in
direct contact with cold air. This circulation type cooling
water system reduces the requirements of makeup water
condensate.
 45

Compressed Air System:

One centralised compressed air system has been established to
meet total compressed air requirements for Ammonia, Urea and
other related offsite facilities. The compressed air system
comprises of six reciprocating compressors each having the
capacity of 1,200 Nm/hr at 6 kg/cm2. Air dryer unit has been
provided to produce air of very low dew point.

Inert Gas Plant:

The equipments and vessel of Ammonia, Urea and other plants are
required to be purged to eliminate explosive and toxic gases
before putting up for maintenance and catalysts are also to be
kept under Nitrogenic atmosphere for its protection when the
plant is under shutdown. For this purpose, inert gas plant has
been provided to produce 600 Nm3/hr of high purity gaseous
Nitrogen at a pressure of 7 kg/cm2.

Ammonia Storage:
A storage facility has been created to facilitate uninterrupted
operation of Ammonia plants in case of Urea plants shutdown.
Two refrigerated ammonia storage tanks each of 10,000 m3
capacity have been provided to store liq. Ammonia at -33oC
temperature and at atmospheric pressure. The storage facility
comprises of all safety system in its operational procedure.

Maintenance:
To run such a large complex at its peak efficiency and
productivity, maintenance function comprising mechanical,
electrical, instrumentation, civil and telecommunication
disciplines has been created. Various types of equipment repair
and keeping it operation worthy, is carried out in-house.
 46

Technical Services:
The plant operations and maintenance is ably supported by
technical services. Its main objective is to study the plant
problems and provide solutions for de-bottlenecking covering
various aspects of the plant.

Environment Management:
IFFCO has selected zero-effluent technology for its plants. The
effluent from various plants undergoes extensive treatment and
is collected in lagoons from where, it is used for irrigation
on the green belt.

Quality Control:
Being an ISO 9001:2000 unit, IFFCO Aonla lays much emphasis on
customer satisfaction through quality objectives. To meet its
quality objectives, a full-fledged laboratory has been
established to monitor quality of production process at various
stages and as well as the inputs and final product urea. Apart
from this the laboratory also monitors the quality of liquid
and gaseous effluents discharged from the factory.

Fire and Safety:

Safety and Fire prevention is the primary factor for the
wellbeing of an organization. Therefore, a well-equipped fire
and safety section has been established in addition to various
built-in safety features of the plants and their technology.
Fire and safety section has been provided with sophisticated
and modern facilities like fire-fighting tenders, rapid
intervention vehicle, fire proof clothing, personal protective
equipment, explosive meters; safety belts, air breathing
apparatus etc.
 47

CONCLUSION
After undergoing a 4 week long industrial training at IFFCO
Aonla, I got to understand altogether, how the largest
fertilizer producer in India operates. Not only did I develop a
better understanding of the theory through its implication, but
also got to know about the direction in which the industry aims
to work towards in future (viz. Automation through IOT & ML).

Though the training report is primarily focused on the working

of Ammonia Plant, I have also been briefly introduced to the
functioning of other important parts of the Unit (chiefly the
Urea Plant) as well which would not have been possible without
the friendly and helpful staff at IFFCO. I also learnt about
the various safety rules & regulations that are followed to
prevent any mishap.

To sum up, I am fully aware of work environment and the

possible responsibilities that I should carry when I work
on/off the field as a Chemical Engineer. I heartily thank IFFCO
for providing me an opportunity to learn, which shall prove
useful when I serve any industry on completion of my degree.