Clariant partners with Cassali to develop new ammonia synthesis catalysts

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Clariant partners with Casale to develop a new synthetic ammonia catalyst Author/Source: Clariant Solutions Date: 11-18-2021 Clicks: 29 AmoMax-Casale is an award-winning, sustainable new synthetic ammonia catalyst developed jointly by Clariant and Casale. Compared to previous catalyst products, AmoMax-Casale has higher activity, which allows for further improvement in ammonia production efficiency while reducing pollution. The introduction of AmoMax-Casale: Compared to other chemical synthesis processes, the production of ammonia (NH3) generates more carbon dioxide emissions. This is also one of the key reasons why Clariant has been committed to improving the performance of its ammonia synthesis catalysts. The company’s phased achievements in research and development include the catalyst AmoMax 10, which is highly recognized in the industry; this catalyst has enabled a transformative upgrade in the ammonia synthesis sector from traditional magnetite-based technologies to vitride ferrous-based technologies. Thanks to its excellent performance, the Clariant AmoMax 10 catalyst has been widely recognized by the industry since its introduction in 2002. It has been successfully used in nearly 120 ammonia synthesis plants around the world, with over 60 of them located in China. Today, Clariant is once again introducing a catalyst product that offers superior performance compared to the previous generation of AmoMax. Thanks to the perfect combination of Clariant’s advanced catalyst technology and Casale’s expertise in ammonia synthesis tower design, the AmoMax-Casale catalyst features a higher active specific surface area, with an efficiency index that is up to 30% higher than that of AmoMax. This significant performance improvement helps ammonia synthesis plants reduce energy consumption substantially, thereby cutting carbon dioxide emissions dramatically. AmoMax-Casale reduces carbon dioxide emissions in two ways; its high activity significantly lowers the operating pressure in the ammonia synthesis loop. Compared to traditional magnet-based catalysts, AmoMax-Casale can further reduce the operating pressure in the cycle by 10–20 bar, which means that factories consume less energy during ammonia production and thus experience lower carbon dioxide emissions. Higher catalyst activity also means a higher ammonia yield; therefore, the plant requires less energy to circulate the process gas back into the system, resulting in a lower circulation ratio and consequently lower carbon dioxide emissions. Higher returns, less pollution. The combination of highly active catalysts with the design of the internals in the Cassali reactor brings performance to new heights. This means that a traditional ammonia synthesis plant with a production capacity of 1,600 tons per day can expect to save nearly 2 million yuan (300,000 dollars) in energy costs each year, and over the 15-year average service life of the catalyst, it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 85,000 tons. More importantly, AmoMax-Casale can also increase the capacity for synthetic ammonia by about 5%. The innovative technology has received widespread recognition; the two companies are proud of the joint achievements they have made, and being acknowledged by their peers is an additional affirmation of these accomplishments. Currently, Clariant and Cassali have each won two prestigious awards: the “Sandmeyer Award 2021” awarded by the Swiss Chemical Society, and the 2020 “ICIS Innovation Award (Best Sustainable Process Technology)”. Learn more about the ICIS Awards and read articles related to AmoMax-Casale. The first commercial results were outstanding; the advantages of AmoMax-Casale are not just theoretical. The catalyst’s first commercial performance in an ammonia synthesis plant in the Americas demonstrated its excellent performance. At the end of 2019, the production unit at this plant was successfully upgraded to a Casale three-bed with two intermediate heat exchangers, and the AmoMax-Casale catalyst was installed. This upgrade resulted in energy savings of up to 40,000 kcal per ton; it is expected to reduce costs by 4.55 million yuan (700,000 USD) per year, as well as cut carbon dioxide emissions by 4,900 tons. AMOMAX-CASALE: Past, Present, and Future. We interviewed two experts leading the AmoMax-Casale collaboration: Marvin Estenfelder/ME, Global R&D Director at Clariant Catalysts, and Ermanno Filippi (EF), Chief Technology Officer at Casale. What were the reasons that led to this collaboration at that time? At that time, we were constantly looking for a catalyst product with higher activity that could match the technology of the Cassali ammonia synthesis tower. AmoMax-Casale is precisely the important outcome of the multidisciplinary collaboration between the two teams. (EF) The first customer of AmoMax-Casale was very satisfied with the product. What are the plans for the next step? Currently, many clients have shown great interest in AmoMax-Casale. The second customer has also decided to use this product in its ammonia synthesis reactor. We believe that starting next year, this product will be used in more projects. Does the customer need to make any adjustments to the current production facility? The only important thing the customer needs to consider is that their reactor internals must be designed and approved by Casali. Meanwhile, the additional renovations carried out by Cassali on the ammonia synthesis tower help improve process efficiency, thereby enhancing economic benefits. (ME) Which end markets will benefit the most from this new catalyst? Currently, over 70% of ammonia is used in fertilizer production. In the future, as AmoMax-Casale can be applied in the production processes of blue ammonia and green ammonia, the importance of the energy market will gradually increase. (ME) Will demand in the synthetic ammonia market further increase after AmoMax-Casale is launched? AmoMax-Casale represents an important step forward in ammonia synthesis technology toward energy conservation and emission reduction. In the future, blue ammonia and green ammonia will play an important role in energy and hydrogen storage, as well as in carbon-neutral power generation, while energy conservation and emission reduction are prerequisites for the production of blue ammonia and green ammonia. (EF) What other cooperation projects will Clariant and Cassali carry out in the near future? In the future, Cassali and Clariant will continue to work together on other ammonia synthesis projects, and they will also develop more innovative technologies to help customers achieve their goal of \"zero carbon emissions\".