PROCESS FOR REVAMPING AN AMMONIA PLANT

• Main Authors: PACH, JOHN DAVID, PARK, COLIN WILLIAM
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Polish
• Published: 02.08.2021
• Subjects: AMMONIA; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOIDCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; CYANOGEN; FUELS; INORGANIC CHEMISTRY; LUBRICANTS; METALLURGY; NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; PEAT; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; PURIFYING OR MODIFYING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COMBUSTIBLEGASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS; TRANSPORTING

A method is described for revamping an ammonia production facility said ammonia production facility having a front end comprising one or more reformers fed with a hydrocarbon feedstock at a hydrocarbon feed stock feed rate and a high-temperature shift reactor fed with a reformed gas obtained from said one or more reformers and containing a fixed bed of iron-containing water-gas shift catalyst, said front end operating at a first steam-to-carbon ratio and a first pressure drop, said method comprising the steps of (i) replacing the iron-containing water-gas shift catalyst with a low-steam water-gas shift catalyst to form a modified front end, (ii) operating the modified front end at a second steam-to-carbon ratio and a second pressure drop, wherein the second steam-to-carbon ratio is at least 0.2 less than the first steam-to-carbon ratio and the second pressure drop is less than the first pressure drop, and (iii) increasing the hydrocarbon feed stock feed rate to said one or more reformers.