A discussion on the article \"A Brief Analysis of Strategies for Reducing Consumption in Older Ammonia Synthesis Plants\"
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This post was last edited by koma on 2010-6-23 at 11:38. An article titled \"A Brief Analysis of Approaches to Reducing Consumption in Existing Ammonia Synthesis Plants\" appeared in the May 2010 issue of \"Nitrogen Fertilizers and Methanol.\" The author mentioned a new technique called \"mini-renovation,\" which allows for significant improvements with minimal investment. In my opinion, this article is somewhat superficial; none of the specific renovation methods are discussed in depth. Yet the company claimed that, despite limited funding, they applied Professor Zhou Shengxian’s \"mini-renovation\" technique to transform the company’s entire production process and equipment, as well as to improve operational procedures. By implementing multiple such mini-renovations, they achieved notable economic benefits. Together with the effects of conventional technical upgrades, the cost per ton of ammonia synthesized was reduced by 600 yuan, with the mini-renovations contributing more than 400 yuan to this reduction. ”It is undeniable that the approach suggested in this article is indeed feasible. However, if, as the article claims, modifications to the internal components of the equipment can be carried out with such low costs – according to the article, the modification projects make use of recycled or discarded materials, and dozens of minor technical improvements were made during two major overhauls, with the total cost for each overhaul not exceeding 100,000 yuan – then such high levels of efficiency seem a bit unbelievable to me. I wonder what other sailors think. An excerpt from the article is as follows: Our company was originally Ningyang Fertilizer Factory, a small fertilizer plant with an annual production capacity of 3 kt of synthetic ammonia, which was built and put into operation in 1968. After several rounds of filling and improvement, by 2003 it had reached a production capacity of 100 kt of synthetic ammonia per year. The period from 2004 to the first half of 2008 was a great opportunity for rapid development in the fertilizer industry, but unfortunately the company failed to seize this chance. Not only was there no significant increase in its scale, but due to severe shortages in funding for production, the existing facilities were not properly optimized either, resulting in very poor economic performance. However, due to funding constraints, we adopted the new \"micro-renovation\" technique developed by Professor Zhou Shengxian from the Shandong Jinin Research Institute to modify the company’s entire production process and equipment, as well as to improve operational procedures. By carrying out multiple such micro-renovations, we achieved significant economic benefits; together with the effects of conventional technical upgrades, the cost per ton of synthetic ammonia was reduced by 600 yuan, with the micro-renovations contributing an additional benefit of over 400 yuan. The relevant summary of the renovation is presented below for reference by colleagues. I hope it will be helpful to everyone, and I welcome any valuable suggestions. 1 Problems with old equipment: The old equipment in small nitrogen fertilizer companies is basically built up step by step, from small scale to larger scale. Why is it called \"built up\"? These enterprises established their factories early on, and as **has developed rapidly, so have these enterprises as well. They add new equipment whenever possible each year, and upgrade some key equipment when the opportunity arises; generally, this involves expanding a certain production process. Over time, they have reached a considerable scale (compared to the initial stage of establishment). Compared to the new complete sets of facilities built these days, their approach is more like a series of incremental additions. Such devices mainly have the following problems. (1) There is a lack of overall planning, the layout is messy, and the overall coordination is poor. Due to the lack of a comprehensive plan for the plant renovation, no balanced economic scale was established; instead, problems were addressed as they arose. As a result, a certain process was a bottleneck before the renovation, but became underutilized after it; once other processes were renovated, that same process turned into a bottleneck again. This led to very poor overall coordination within the plant, with a chaotic layout and winding pipelines. (2) The design standards are low, construction is highly arbitrary, and there are many system bottlenecks. Perhaps it is due to the limited technical capabilities of the plants themselves when it comes to carrying out renovations; maybe it’s because, during times of fertilizer shortages, there was a much greater emphasis on increasing production from fertilizer manufacturing facilities than on reducing consumption. Perhaps it’s also a matter of a lack of awareness regarding standards – most renovations of old facilities are not carried out with proper design or standard drawings. Technicians can simply arrange the equipment by hand and lay the pipes by measuring them with their feet; connected equipment and units are just linked together, without any consideration for standards or resistance factors. As a result, most old facilities suffer from numerous production bottlenecks and have low system efficiency. (3) The equipment is outdated, with severe leaks, posing significant safety risks. Many old devices are in poor condition due to years of disuse; lubrication, insulation, and corrosion protection are inadequate, resulting in severe leaks and significant safety hazards. 2 Characteristics of micro-technology upgrades: We take...
What is the cost of producing ammonia nowadays? What is the current price of urea? The cost of tons of ammonia has dropped by 600 yuan, resulting in significant benefits! Is it possible to learn on-site*? If such ‘miniature’ modifications can yield such significant benefits, then with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons of synthetic ammonia from low-nitrogen fertilizers, the annual benefits would amount to over 60 million. Is there any need to worry about market competition?
:I’ve always been wondering where he got the idea of reducing consumption from Are the modifications such as the internal components of equipment towers and vessels, as well as the piston rings of compressors, really that easy to carry out, as they claim? One point concerns whether the modification of the air valves at various stages of the compressor is carried out as described – that is, by making appropriate adjustments to the valve limiters, valve seats, side clearances, and pressure sleeves based on the current conditions of each compressor unit; thinning where necessary, thickening where needed, enlarging holes where required, and sealing off openings as appropriate, so as to maintain a certain balance in the passages related to the valve limiters, valve seats, and valve leaflets, thereby minimizing excess clearance, reducing the outlet temperature of the cylinder and the gas, and increasing the compressor’s pumping capacity. . . . . . ”I don’t know what basis this so-called “should” is based on
It’s a very attractive topic. However, in the field of ammonia synthesis, technological progress is accelerating rapidly, and larger-scale operations have become the trend; it’s inevitable that the older, smaller equipment will be phased out. The fact that micro-modifications can yield such good results merely indicates that the existing technical equipment is too outdated. It’s time to get rid of it
Hehe, such techniques once fooled many people, but many of them were based on assumptions rather than thorough calculations. For example, on the sieve plates of the trays used for propylene carbon regeneration, many small knots were attached using aluminum wires; the purpose of this was to create movement as the propylene carbon settled, thereby achieving a more even distribution. In reality, under such conditions, those knots were quickly blocked by sulfur crystals, and the sieve pores became clogged as well, which actually reduced the efficiency of the purification process. The original design for the propylene column was a tray-type precipitation distributor, but it was changed to a branch-type design; as a result, the CO2 level in the purified gas soared, making it almost impossible to continue production.
:Shut up: This is probably the difference between academic research and actual production. Many things sound easy in theory, but there are too many variations in practice; after all, theoretical concepts are based on idealized models, while real-world situations often have their own particularities
Teacher Zhou Shengxian is experienced and has a wealth of practical knowledge; methods such as preventing flow around copper towers with small amounts of fluid, as well as redistributing fluid in larger quantities, are very effective. We haven’t used these approaches for compression yet, and some of them may not be very suitable either... Everyone should choose to adopt what works for them.