Ice oil separation
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The gas ammonia outlet of the refrigeration units used in the synthetic ammonia production process contains a small amount of oil, and this oil has a significant impact on the proper operation of the cooling system. Some systems use an oil separation device after the gas ammonia leaves the refrigeration unit, while others employ liquid ammonia obtained after cooling in a horizontal condenser for oil separation. This article discusses which of these methods is more effective and explains the reasons behind it.
I don’t think either option is very good. Current dry gas seals can ensure that there is no oil in the gas; it’s just that there is a high amount of inert gases in the ammonia gas, and this issue can be resolved by removing those inert gases. Our factory is already switching from oil seals to dry gas seals.
They should be combined: the oil separator behind the chiller should be drained once per hour, the liquid ammonia tank can be drained once every 8 hours of operation, and the ammonia cooler can be drained once every ten days. If the inert gas content in ammonia is high and frequent or even continuous emission is required, the loss of ammonia will be significant – is this not worth it?
May I ask which factory the person on the 2nd floor works for? Can we go to your factory to learn* there?
Of course, it is more effective to use liquid ammonia that has been cooled by an ice machine for oil separation, as the temperature is lower at this point, the saturated vapor pressure of oil is smaller, and thus oil separation is easier.
Try to avoid releasing ammonia gases. Such compressors generally use floating ring oil film seals, and I think the technicians on your team should check the sealing system; there might be an issue with the control of the seal oil level. We also use floating ring oil film seals here, and we haven’t encountered such problems. I hope your equipment staff will conduct a check.