How significant is the impact of water on ammonia synthesis production?
Thread Content
Our plant has a capacity of 300,000 tons per year for synthetic ammonia production. The main water-related systems include gas generation cycle water, comprehensive cycle water, desalinated water, and a wastewater treatment plant. Although the plant has been in operation for over a year without any shutdowns due to water-related issues, we have observed that water plays a significant role in its operations. The biggest problem is the waste ammonia water generated; it cannot be treated, nor can it be discharged outside, so it can only be stored there. Eventually, the tanks will get full! Is it just because of this production stoppage?
Water indeed has a significant impact on ammonia synthesis production； In large ammonia synthesis plants, the water system design is relatively well-developed, ensuring stable water quality and temperature; as a result, the impact on production is much less severe compared to small and medium-sized ammonia synthesis plants ； In small and medium-sized ammonia synthesis plants, production generally decreases by about 5% during the summer due to water temperature; it doesn’t seem that such a situation occurs in large ammonia synthesis plants ； For wastewater containing ammonia nitrogen, there are already mature treatment processes available, such as nitrification and stripping; after treatment, the water can be discharged in compliance with regulations or reused. Many factories already have wastewater treatment systems in operation, and it is worth considering installing another set of such systems.
May I ask the original poster: Where does your waste ammonia solution come from? How high is the concentration? If the concentration is high and urea is available, it is recommended to send it to the hydrolysis and desorption process in the urea treatment unit ； If there is no accompanying urea, it is recommended to install an ammonia distillation unit to recover liquid ammonia through distillation.
A production capacity of 300,000 tons per year of synthetic ammonia is quite substantial, so there should be no need to worry about waste ammonia water. Zero wastewater discharge has now been promoted, and the treatment of ammonia-containing wastewater is no longer a problem. Hebei Zhengyuan Company has sealed off the waste discharge outlets, and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturers in Shandong have begun to require that nitrogen emissions meet the specified standards. Low-concentration ammonia-containing wastewater can be used for flue gas desulfurization in boilers; ammonia absorbs sulfur dioxide to produce sulfites, which are carried away with the coal slurry, while part of the water can evaporate through the flue vents. It can also be recycled as mentioned above. In short, ammonia should be comprehensively recovered step by step and utilized at different levels.
It has a great impact； The first is demineralized water; if the water quality is not properly treated, it will result in corrosion and scaling of the equipment (especially boilers) and their pipelines. The second is circulating water; substandard water quality and temperature lead to corrosion and scaling in heat exchange equipment. The above two issues can sometimes severely impact the production of our factory. Third is wastewater; **environmental protection requirements are becoming increasingly strict, and the quality of an enterprise’s environmental management efforts determines its survival and fate.
The main issue mentioned by the poster is that of waste ammonia water. It can be considered as follows: 1. If there is a urea plant available, ammonia water can be sent there for desorption； 2. Or, use the existing ammonia vaporization unit to directly recover liquid ammonia, with the wastewater being sent to the gas generation jacket for use ； 3. Ammonia water desulfurization (only semi-water gas is applicable) is used for semi-desulfurization.
The wastewater from the ammonia synthesis industry is sent to a steam stripping unit for recovery and reuse
Diluted ammonia water can be boiled in an ammonia evaporation tower to recover gaseous ammonia, or it can be concentrated to produce ammonium carbonate for sale. The temperature of the circulating cooling water has a significant impact on the production volume of ammonia synthesis plants.
In the long run, it’s better to install a sewage treatment system. Often, you cannot treat wastewater in an accident scenario.
I believe that in ammonia synthesis, if coal is the food, then water is the blood of ammonia production； The main points are as follows: 1. In coal chemical production, hydrogen is essential, and its source is water (steam); therefore, water is also a raw material. 2. In the ammonia synthesis process, water is the most abundant component throughout the plant (in systems or pipelines), such as desalinated water (or softened water) for use in various processes, steam, circulating cooling water, and cooling water for operating equipment such as fans and oil pumps ； 3. The quality of water has a significant impact: for example, if the parameters of circulating water are not up to standard, issues such as scaling, corrosion, blockages, and poor cooling efficiency can occur; similarly, if the quality of demineralized water is inadequate, it can lead to corrosion and scaling in boilers------ ； 4. Water is present everywhere in ammonia synthesis production – in large or small quantities, as liquid or vapor, directly or indirectly; it is ubiquitous ； It’s equivalent to human blood – extremely important.
It would be good to make use of waste by producing ammonium carbonate for sale.