【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】2082-2024: Zhongke Hecheng’s Thousand-Ton Modular Flexible Ammonia Synthesis Project
Thread Content
This post was last edited by “Fish Swimming in the Desert” on December 15, 2024, at 22:28. Let’s give a thumbs up and encouragement to the achievements made in China’s chemical technology and equipment. Your participation in the discussion is the greatest motivation for us. ********************** [Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Equipment] This is a continuously updated summary thread; all are welcome to join the discussion: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum) ***************** In December 2024, the first domestic modular and flexible ammonia synthesis plant with a capacity of 1,000 tons, developed by the Energy Research Institute under the Hefei Comprehensive Science Center (**hereinafter referred to as “Energy Research Institute”**), was successfully put into operation in Hefei, Anhui Province. As of the time of writing, the equipment has been operating steadily for hundreds of hours, and all the ammonia produced has been sent to thermal power plants for use in ammonia-enhanced combustion. This milestone achievement represents a significant breakthrough in ammonia synthesis technology, and it also provides an innovative solution for the field of green energy. The new generation of modular flexible ammonia synthesis equipment, which was successfully tested in this trial run, was developed for the field of green energy liquid fuels and is tailored for scenarios involving green electricity, green hydrogen, and green ammonia. Modular, standardized, and intelligent design enables rapid deployment at distributed project sites, significantly reducing the costs associated with construction and operation and maintenance ； At the same time, it possesses dynamic-balanced production capabilities, allowing for large-scale direct integration with renewable energy sources; it can operate at lower loads, which reduces the need for storing green hydrogen and thus lowers construction costs. It is expected that in the future, modular and flexible ammonia synthesis equipment will be widely and extensively applied in various fields such as green fertilizers, ammonia combustion in thermal power generation, green hydrogen carriers, and zero-carbon fuels, thereby enabling the development of a high-end equipment manufacturing industry. Image
The success of this driving operation not only brings innovative technical solutions to the ammonia synthesis industry, but also provides strong technical support for promoting the efficient use of green energy and achieving sustainable development that takes into account both economic benefits and environmental protection. With the growing global demand for clean energy, this technology is expected to be widely adopted worldwide, helping to establish a new type of energy system that is clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient. Image: Workers adjusting on-site equipment. The Energy Research Institute is a provincial-level institution established jointly by Anhui Province and the Chinese Academy of Sciences; it relies on a major science and technology innovation platform created through the joint efforts of four institutions: the Plasma Institute of Hefei Institute of Physical Science under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei University of Technology, and Anhui University of Science and Technology. Focus on developing efforts in four key areas: the clean and efficient use of existing fossil fuels (clean coal), the development of green and clean energy sources (renewable energy), the advancement of future ultimate energy sources (magnetic confinement fusion energy), and the storage, transmission, and distribution of secondary energy (smart power grids), in order to create a **strategic scientific and technological force** with significant influence and decision-making power.
Kehecheng is a supplier of technologies and equipment for flexible skid-mounted synthetic green ammonia production. Its core business areas include skid-mounted flexible synthetic green ammonia equipment, comprehensive solutions for synthetic green ammonia production, as well as other services such as engineering technical consulting. Ammonia synthesis is the largest consumer of hydrogen, with approximately 40% of global hydrogen being used in this sector. So-called “green ammonia” refers to ammonia synthesized using renewable energy and green hydrogen. Under the traditional ammonia production process, ammonia plants use fossil fuels to produce hydrogen, which is then combined with nitrogen through a catalytic reaction under high temperature and pressure to generate ammonia. On the one hand, this traditional ammonia synthesis based on fossil fuels results in high carbon emissions, making ammonia production the chemical sub-sector with the highest global carbon emissions at present ； On the other hand, traditional ammonia production processes require a large-scale and stable supply of raw materials as well as high temperature and pressure conditions, making them unsuitable for renewable energy sources that are intermittent and variable. Therefore, the development of ammonia production processes using renewable energy that feature low energy consumption, low emissions, high efficiency, and the ability to adapt to the fluctuations in renewable energy supply is an inevitable trend for the growth of the green chemical industry under the \"dual carbon\" goals. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, global annual production of green ammonia is expected to exceed 20 million tons by 2030 ； By 2050, it will exceed 560 million tons, accounting for over 80% of global ammonia production. Green ammonia production equipment has a broad market demand potential. The new generation of flexible ammonia synthesis technology and equipment developed by Zhongke Hecheng are suitable for green electricity and green hydrogen applications, enabling the creation of green ammonia plants. In terms of specific equipment performance, Zhongke Hecheng’s green ammonia production system is capable of dynamically adjusting its load at a rate of 100%/h, and it can operate safely at loads as low as 10% of its rated capacity for extended periods. Compared to the \"rigidity\" of traditional ammonia production methods, the flexible load handling capability of Zhongke Hecheng’s ammonia production equipment allows it to better adapt to the fluctuations in the supply of clean electricity and green hydrogen, thereby reducing the investment costs associated with hydrogen and energy storage systems.
In addition to flexible ammonia production, another advantage of Zhongke Hecheng’s green ammonia equipment is its modular, standardized design, which allows for the flexible construction of green ammonia plants based on actual conditions and customer requirements. Zhang Wenyang, the company’s founder, explained that this modular product architecture allows flexible green ammonia plants to be pre-fabricated and transported, with advantages such as rapid deployment, plug-and-play functionality, and reduced on-site construction needs. Thanks to its flexible manufacturing process and skid-mounted structural design, Zhongke Hecheng’s ammonia synthesis equipment can be directly installed at sites where green hydrogen is produced using off-grid electricity, enabling the synthesis of green ammonia on-site after green hydrogen is generated through off-grid power. On the one hand, relying on off-grid electricity as the main source of power has significantly reduced the cost of synthetic ammonia ； On the other hand, this also largely addresses the current challenge of storage and transportation in the green hydrogen industry chain.
The cost of ammonia is a topic of concern for the outside world. Zhang Wenyang told 36Carbon that the technology for producing green ammonia using flexible lifting blocks can help reduce costs through the following approaches: On one hand, the dynamic flexibility of this new technology allows green ammonia plants to operate for longer periods of time. Moreover, compared to traditional ammonia production, green ammonia plants are safer, easier to operate, and require less maintenance, which in turn reduces operational and maintenance costs. On the other hand, since green ammonia plants can utilize green hydrogen locally, this reduces the investment costs associated with storing and transporting green hydrogen. Overall, the capital expenditure per unit of green ammonia production capacity is currently comparable to that of large ammonia plants; ideally, it can even reduce costs by 30% compared to traditional ammonia synthesis. Regarding the team, 36 Carbon has learned that the core team of Zhongke Hecheng comes from the Energy Research Institute of Hefei Comprehensive **Science Center. This team not only possesses strong operational and management skills as well as technical R&D capabilities derived from industry experience, but also has the full capacity to implement and deliver ammonia synthesis projects. It is worth mentioning that Zhongke HeCheng has a high-level advisory team composed of experienced industry professionals and scientific research experts, which provides strong intellectual support for the company. As a representative project for the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements at Hefei Institute of Energy, Zhongke Hecheng has also received strong support from the institute. Regarding practical applications, Zhang Wenyang revealed that during last year’s COP28 conference, Zhongke HeCheng, under the leadership of Chentao Capital, signed an agreement for a 260MW photovoltaic-based hydrogen production and ammonia synthesis project in Abu Dhabi. The company will be responsible for the design and manufacturing of the equipment needed for producing green ammonia in this project. This is also the first off-grid green ammonia project in the UAE, with the green ammonia product expected to be supplied to markets in Europe, the United States, as well as Japan and South Korea. Domestically, a representative project implemented by Zhongke Hecheng is the flexible photovoltaic hydrogen production for ammonia synthesis project in the Energy Research Institute park; this project is also the first demonstration facility in China to apply a thousand-ton-scale flexible green ammonia production process.