Internationally advanced integrated technology for large-scale nitrogen fertilizer production

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International advanced level in industrialized technology for large-scale nitrogen fertilizers. Author/Source: Sinochem News Network. Date: 2022-01-04. Clicks: 22. Recently, the industrialized technology for large-scale nitrogen fertilizers, developed under the leadership of China Global Engineering Co., Ltd. and CNPC Ningxia Petrochemical Branch, passed the evaluation of scientific and technological achievements organized by the Science and Technology Management Department of CNPC Group. The appraisal expert group unanimously agreed that the overall achievement reaches the international advanced level, with the key technologies for the first-stage natural gas conversion furnace and the urea desorption and hydrolysis process technologies reaching the international leading level. 　　A appraisal committee composed of 9 industry experts, including Xu Chunming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at China University of Petroleum, and Zhang Suojiang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, carefully listened to the reports on the achievements and reviewed the technical documents. Through independent evaluation and scoring, they gave high praise to these achievements, concluding that as a whole they reach an internationally advanced level, while the key technologies related to natural gas stage-one conversion furnaces and the urea desorption and hydrolysis processes are at an internationally leading level. 　　China has long relied on imports for the large-scale nitrogen fertilizer production technology that uses natural gas as a raw material. Dozens of such large-scale nitrogen fertilizer plants have been introduced since the last century; not only are the patent technologies and key equipment expensive to import, but reliance on foreign suppliers also results in high construction costs. This technology represents a bottleneck that hinders the development of the national economy. 　　In 2009, China National Petroleum Corporation launched a major scientific and technological project titled “Development of Industrialized Complete Sets of Technologies for Large-Scale Nitrogen Fertilizer Production.” Led by CNPC Huaguo Company and CNPC Ningxia Petrochemical Branch, this project brought together 8 renowned domestic research institutions and 9 top domestic equipment manufacturers. Relying on Ningxia Petrochemical’s 450,000 tons per year ammonia synthesis facility and 800,000 tons per year urea production facility, and through nearly 10 years of intensive efforts, it succeeded in overcoming various technical challenges related to ammonia synthesis, urea production, catalysts, as well as major equipment and engineering technologies. It also led to the development of China’s first set of industrialized technologies for producing nitrogen fertilizers from natural gas, with independent intellectual property rights. 　　In May 2018, the 450,000 tons per year ammonia synthesis and 800,000 tons per year urea production projects at Ningxia Petrochemical were commissioned successfully on the first attempt. The project utilizes large-scale ammonia synthesis and urea production technologies developed through major scientific and technological initiatives, and for the first time it achieves domestic production of key equipment such as syngas compressors and turbines, carbon dioxide compressors, syngas waste heat boilers, high-pressure ammonia pumps, and high-pressure ammonium methoxide pumps. At present, the project has achieved stable operation over long periods. Even during the winter shutdowns required to ensure a sufficient supply of natural gas, it still produced over 600,000 tons of urea in 2021, resulting in excellent economic benefits. 　　The successful development of comprehensive industrialization technologies for large-scale nitrogen fertilizers has broken the foreign technological monopoly, enabled the independent development of such major equipment, and ended the situation in which China was dependent on others for advanced technologies related to large-scale nitrogen fertilizer production. This has significantly enhanced China’s technical capabilities and market competitiveness in the entire nitrogen fertilizer industry. It holds great social and economic significance for ensuring food security, promoting energy conservation and emission reduction, and advancing the implementation of scientific and technological strategies. Driven especially by the \"dual carbon\" goals, hydrogen energy is seeing rapid development. Ammonia, as a carrier for hydrogen and a carbon-free fuel, is gaining increasing attention both domestically and internationally. This will undoubtedly bring about another transformation in the synthetic ammonia industry, and it represents an important opportunity for the company to leverage its technical advantages to contribute to the achievement of carbon neutrality goals.