Conventional Ammonia Plant

TM
Revamp with Purifier
KRIBHCO has operated two identical ammonia plants since 1986. These plants originally used
legacy Kellogg conventional design and are revamped to use KBR’s PurifierTM ammonia synthesis
technology as a means to increase the plant capacity by over 25% of their current capability. At the
same time, the plants have reduced the unit energy consumption. This paper describes the merits of
PurifierTM in revamp applications and the major modifications made, including a change from a
potassium carbonate based CO2 removal system to one using BASF’s activated MDEA (OASE White)
solvent. Implementation on the first plant was made late 2011 and the second unit in 2012.

Rajesh Aggarwal
Krishak Bharati Co-Operative Ltd, Hazira, Gujarat, India

Meghji Shah
KBR, Houston, USA

substantial increased capacity with energy

Introduction reduction presented quite a challenge. Two
different alternative process schemes were

K rishak Bharati Co-Operative Ltd

(Kribhco) operates an ammonia/urea
complex having two identical ammonia
plants in Hazira, India. The ammonia plant
design was based on KBR’s conventional
studied, namely, conventional technology and
KBR’s PurifierTM technology. For the PurifierTM
revamp, the ammonia plant capacity could be
increased to 1890 MTPD (2083 STPD). The
limitation was the refrigeration system capacity.
technology with the design capacity of For the conventional revamp, the plant capacity
1350 MTPD (1488 STPD). Kribhco increased could be increased to 1800 MTPD
the design capacity to 1520 MTPD (1984 STPD). The main limitation was the
(1675 STPD) by addition of a common purge primary reformer. Kribhco also wanted to
gas recovery unit for the two plants and by maximize the CO2 production in each case, with
modifying the ammonia converter. the intent to revamp the urea plant for higher
capacity.
In 2004, Kribhco contracted KBR to perform a
revamp study with the following objectives: KBR visited the complex and collected
increase the production by about 25%, and operating data from both plants and developed a
decrease the unit energy consumption by 0.4-0.5 base case operation for plant no.1. This plant
Gcal/MT (1.45-1.8 MMBtu/ST). A goal of was selected as the study base case because it

2013 31 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 was the most efficient plant. The operating data The major revamp features included addition of
provided valuable information on exchanger a parallel process air compressor, reformer
performance, catalyst performance and rotating convection coil changes, change over from two
equipment efficiencies. The energy stage potassium carbonate CO2 removal process
consumptions and the budgetary cost estimates to the two stage activated MDEA system,
for both revamp options were developed on addition of a dryer system and purifier unit and
United States Gulf Coast basis. The client then modification or replacement of the synthesis gas
ran a detailed economic analysis for the two compressor. In this case, the existing PGRU
options on an Indian cost basis. After was maintained in the revamp scheme for
considering the advantages and disadvantages of energy savings.
both cases, they opted to proceed with the
PurifierTM revamp. Table 1 provides a summary of the changes
proposed in the two above mentioned revamp
schemes. Table 2 shows a comparison between
Discussion of Revamp Options the process parameters for both revamp options.
Figure 1 shows the schematic of the plant before
Conventional PurifierTM
the revamp. The major process steps include Revamp Revamp
Equipment/ SectionsChanges
desulfurization, primary reforming, air Primary Reformer Mixed Feed Coil Replacement Yes No
Air Compressor New Parallel Air Compressor Yes Yes
compression and secondary reformer, waste heat CO2 Removal Change to activated MDEA system Yes Yes
boiler, shift conversion, activated potassium Purification
- Mol Sieve Drier No Yes
carbonate CO2 removal system, methanation, Synthesis
- Purifier No Yes

compression, synthesis loop, refrigeration and - Syngas Compr./Turbine Modified

- New Ammonia Converter
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
purge gas recovery (PGRU). The PGRU
includes ammonia recovery as well as hydrogen Refrigeration
recovery. The energy consumption for the base NH3 Recovery
- Refrig.Compr./Turbine Modified No No

case was about 8.03 Gcal./MT -New LP Scrubber (Common for Plants 1& 2) Yes Yes
- New HP Scrubber & NH3 Distillation System Yes No
(28.9 MMBtu/ST). Hydrogen recovery In Revamp Scheme No Yes

Exchangers
Modified or Replaced 9 10
Figure 2 represents conventional revamp New 4 3
Estimated Cost $/ Delta MT NH3 Production 229,000 180,000
schematic with a revamp capacity of
1800 MTPD. The major revamp features Table 1: Salient changes in process scheme for
included addition of parallel process air revamp options
compressor, reformer convection coil changes,
Conventional Purifier TM
change from two stage potassium carbonate CO2 Revamp Revamp
removal process to two stage activated MDEA Ammonia Production MTPD 1800 1890
Total Reformer Duty Gcal/MT 2.93 2.64
system, modification of the synthesis gas HP Steam Production T/T 5.1 5.3
compressor, addition of a single bed ammonia CH4 Slip exit 101-B
CH4 Slip exit 103-D
%dry mol
%dry mol
13.3
0.5
29.5
1.7
converter in series with the existing converter, CO Slip exit HTS %dry mol 3.9 3
CO Slip exit LTS %dry mol 0.3 0.3
and replacement of ammonia recovery system. CO2 for Urea MTPD 2210 2321
Also, to maximize the CO2 production with as CO2 slip from Absorber ppmv
2
500 500
Front End Pressure drop KG/CM (A) 6.6 11.0
little impact on energy consumption as possible, 2
Synthesis Loop Pressure Drop KG/CM 16.2 11.2
the existing hydrogen recovery unit was deleted. H/N Ratio inlet Converter 3.00 3.00
Inerts inlet Converter %dry mol 9.00 4.97
2
Synthesis Pressure KG/CM (A) 182 179
Figure 3 depicts the revamp with PurifierTM NH3% outlet Converter %dry mol 20.50 18.75
technology. The revamp capacity for this case Energy Savings, LHV Basis Gcal/MT 0.52 0.34

was fixed at 1890 MTPD (2084 STPD), which Table 2: Comparison of parameters for
was limited by the refrigeration system load. revamp options

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 32 2013

 As shown in Table 1, the investment cost per Feed Gas Flexibility
incremental MT of NH3 is approximately 25%
lower for the Purifier revamp option than the The process is uniquely able to handle
Conventional revamp option. An overall variations in the composition of the natural gas
economic analysis performed by Kribhco also feed, including variations in hydrocarbon
concluded that the purifier option provided a content, nitrogen content and carbon dioxide
higher rate of return. content. The Purifier also absorbs the variations
in the raw synthesis gas, and maintains a stable
composition of the makeup gas to the synthesis
Purifier Technology Overview loop. Conversely, in a conventional plant, the
flow rate of process air to the secondary
The cryogenic purification unit, shown in reformer needs to be controlled carefully to
Figure 4, is the heart of the KBR Purifier obtain the required hydrogen to nitrogen ratio in
Process. In this unit, essentially all the methane the makeup gas to the synthesis loop.
and about 60 percent of the argon in the raw
synthesis gas are removed, together with the Mild Primary Reforming
excess nitrogen, as waste gas. This waste gas is
returned to the auxiliary boiler as fuel after it In the KBR Purifier Process, primary reforming
has been used to regenerate the make-up gas is carried out at about 100 °C lower temperature
driers. The product from this unit is a highly than in conventional ammonia processes. The
pure synthesis gas that contains H2 and N2 in a methane content of the process gas to the
ratio of 3:1. It does not contain any water or secondary reformer is much higher than in a
carbon oxides, which are poisons for the conventional ammonia plant. More of the
synthesis catalyst. The inert content, mainly reforming is shifted to the secondary reformer
argon, is about 0.2 mole percent. by use of excess air. The radiant duty in the
primary reformer is thus greatly reduced
Most of the net cooling required by the Purifier resulting in the following benefits in a revamp:
is provided by a gas expander, which causes a  The primary reformer catalyst tubes, the
modest pressure drop in the synthesis gas outlet manifold, the transfer line and the
stream. Further cooling is provided by low- convection section operate at much lower
pressure vaporization of the waste gas. temperatures, which increase reliability.
 The life of the reformer catalyst and the
The Purifier has two controls. The energy reformer tubes is increased, which reduces
balance is controlled by the amount of work operating and maintenance cost.
removed from the system by the expander. The
material balance is controlled by a valve in the Mild Reformed Gas Boiler Conditions
liquid line from the bottom of the column to the
reflux condenser. This valve is controlled by a The Reformed gas (RG) boiler in the Purifier
hydrogen analyzer on the purified process gas process operates under significantly milder
exit the cryogenic system to maintain a H:N conditions – both inlet gas temperature and heat
ratio of 3:1 in the make-up gas to the synthesis flux. Typically RG boilers on the secondary
loop. reformer exit are prone to failure due to severe
inlet temperature and high heat flux. The
Some of the benefits of PurifierTM in the revamp Purifier process enables it to operate at more
are listed below. than 100 °C (210 °F) cooler, minimizing the
process severity and enhancing equipment
reliability.

2013 33 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 More CO2 Production for Urea Plant secondary reformer was modified with KBR’s
ATR type design, which does not require a
Since the Purifier process uses excess process mixer burner. The ATR type design is proven
air in the secondary reformer, typically 6% more in all recent Purifier plants and it eliminates
CO2 is produced in the reforming section problems associated with the mixer burner.
compared to a conventional process.
Shift Conversion
Description of Major Retrofit The existing Guard LTS Reactor and the Main
Features LTS reactor were put in parallel mode to reduce
the pressure drop.
Kribhco elected to implement the Purifier
revamp option based on the favorable rate of
CO2 Removal System
return on investment and other inherent
advantages of operation with the Purifier. The existing carbonate system was replaced
with BASF’s two stage OASE White activated
Primary Reformer MDEA solvent to reduce energy consumption.
This solvent switch resulted in major
The following are the modifications required for modifications to the system and equipment. The
the primary reformer:
major changes are as follows:
 Replacement of the convection coils due to  New Bulk Absorber, Figure 5
change in duties and pressure drop
 New LP Flash Drum, Figure 5
considerations
 New HP Flash Drum, Figure 5
 Replacement of the I.D. fan and driver
 New Solution Pumps and drivers
 Reuse of the old I.D. fan and driver as a new
 Replace CO2 Stripper Reflux Pumps
F.D. fan and driver
 Replace lean solution air cooler
 Replacement of the one auxiliary boiler coil
and burners to allow firing of purifier waste  Remove top section packing of the existing
gas absorber
 Modification and recommissioning of the
The major pieces of equipment that were reused
existing feed preheat furnace
were as follows:
Parallel Air Compressor  Existing absorber as Lean Absorber after
removing packing from top section.
For the Purifier process revamp, about 53%  Stripper after remove packing from the
excess air is required. This excess air results in bottom section.
a H:N ratio at the feed to the purifier cold box of
2:1. To supply this excess air, an integrally New Mol-Sieve Dryer System
geared, six stage centrifugal compressor was
installed in parallel to the existing process air The new mol-sieve dryers, Figure 6, containing
compressor. solid desiccants were installed. Each drier was
sized to remove residual carbon dioxide and
Secondary Reformer, 103-D water in a 24-hour drying cycle. A regeneration
heater was also added.
The increased flow of the air to the secondary
reformer results in higher adiabatic flame New Cryogenic Purification Unit
temperature. To safely accommodate this
temperature, the top section of the existing A cryogenic purifier, Figure 7, was installed to
remove excess nitrogen and to remove the

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 34 2013

 methane and argon in the make-up synthesis A shutdown to modify the basket internals by
gas. the converter basket vendor was completed in
April of 2013. The inspection found that the
Synthesis Gas Compression catalyst was trapped in the annular space
between the outer collector of 2nd and 3rd bed
The existing compressor was replaced with an and the cartridge wall, although no major
efficient new compressor on the same damage was found on wire mesh collectors of
foundation. The steam turbine was modified. the three beds. Support of the Bed Interchanger
was found bulged. Leaking tubes in the
Ammonia & Hydrogen Recovery Unit converter feed/effluent exchanger were plugged.
The repair included replacement of the wire
Ammonia is removed and recovered from low
mesh screen with slotted plates. After the
pressure (LP) flash gases to lower NOx in the
restart, the plant is producing about 1950 MTPD
reformer flue gas. A common LP ammonia
(2150 STPD) of ammonia.
scrubber system for both plants was installed in
the same area of the existing common HP
Although Plant #1 has successfully achieved
ammonia recovery system.
more than the design revamp capacity, the
operation faced the following difficulties along
Steam System
the way to the full production:
The high pressure steam flow from the steam
drum increased by about 17% over the steam CO2 Removal System Cleaning
drum design flow. The steam drum was
It is critical to thoroughly clean the system prior
modified. To accommodate the higher boiler
to a chemical change. Kribhco followed the
feed water demand (BFW) a new BFW pump
cleaning procedure provided by BASF, which
was added.
included potash solution flush and two
demineralized water flushes. Foam tests, pH
Plant #1 Revamp Experience checks, and other required tests were carried out
during the cleaning. All tests indicated that the
All the revamp modifications were implemented system was cleaned to the satisfaction of BASF
in Plant #1 during a four week shutdown. procedure.
Foundations for the new equipment were
completed prior to the shutdown. The When the absorber was put in service and the
commissioning and start up of the revamped stripper bottom temperature got close to 100 °C
plant was initiated by Kribhco operation group (210 °F), the strainers at the inlet of lean/semi-
with assistance from KBR in early December lean solution plate and frame heat exchanger
2011. (PFH) and at the suction of the lean solution
pumps started to plug and restricted the flow of
First ammonia was produced in the last week of lean solution. The strainers and the PFH were
December 2011. From February end until July opened and were found partially plugged with
2012 the plant produced over 1900 MTPD solids. It was surmised that the solids were
(2095 STPD) compared to the design revamp from a magnetite passivation layer associated
capacity of 1890 MTPD (2084 STPD). Since with the hot potassium carbonate system. The
then the plant has been operating at about “T” type strainers were replaced with bucket
1700 MTPD (1875 STPD) due to high pressure type strainers having more open area.
drop in the ammonia converter basket.

2013 35 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 Fortunately the design included an installed Waste Gas Fuel System
spare PFH, which allowed switching and
cleaning the exchangers on a daily basis. It took Purifier operation produces waste gas, which
almost two weeks to clean the system to contains about 78-80% nitrogen. The remainder
establish the adequate lean solution flow to the is methane, hydrogen and argon. This gas is at
absorber. low pressure and has low calorific value. It is
burned as fuel in the auxiliary boiler, supplying
The CO2 removal system is now operating 68% of the fuel requirement. The balance of
satisfactorily with lower than design CO2 slip fuel is natural gas. Despite replacement of the
from the absorber at about 100 ppmv. auxiliary boiler burners to accommodate the
waste gas in the revamp, only 75% of the waste
The lesson learned was that the residual gas could be burned. The new burners were a
byproduct from the old system dislodges when limitation. The burner tips were gradually
the system gets hot. During the flushing with modified and all the waste gas is now being
demineralized water, the system should be burned in the auxiliary boiler.
heated to about 100 °C (210 °F) instead of about
70 °C (160 °F) for proper cleaning. The Synthesis Gas Compressor Seals
cleaning was done as per procedure provided by
The synthesis gas compressor was replaced for
BASF for the revamped plant. The net open area
the revamp operation. After the startup it was
of the strainers should be 3 to 4 times the pipe
noted that the compressor was consuming 15%
cross sectional area. This was followed for the
more power than expected. As a result the
plant # 2 revamp.
steam consumption for the turbine drive was
very high and required the operation of two
Expander Issues
condensate pumps.
The plant experienced several expander trips in
the early days of the Purifier start-up due to The four nozzle HP case of the compressor
instrumentation and interlock system problems accomplishes the make-up gas third stage
in the seal oil system. The trip problems were compression and the recycle gas compression.
resolved by installing updated software. The make-up gas from the third stage discharge
is mixed with the recycle gas externally and the
Currently, although the plant is operating at mixed stream is fed to the ammonia converter
higher than design capacity, the expander after compression in the recycle stage. It was
operates with more than twice the design discovered that the make-up gas at discharge
pressure drop resulting in energy loss due to contained about 0.7% ammonia. Information
lower suction pressure of the synthesis gas was forwarded to the compressor vendor, who
compressor. The system is being evaluated to concluded that the seal material was not
determine the reason for this higher pressure compatible with ammonia, resulting in failure
drop. Deriming of the cold box, as per vendor and internal bypassing. The supplied
procedure, did not result in lowering the compressor had flourosint seal material, which
pressure drop. It should be pointed out that the was replaced with Si-Al graphite material for
plant could be operated at about 90% rate in a the LP and HP compressor balance piston
conventional mode when the purifier unit is labyrinth.
bypassed. An inspection of the cold box needs
to be carried out at the next available
opportunity. The material and the resources
required for inspection are being gathered.

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 36 2013

 Plant #2 Revamp Experience Combustion Air Balance

Plant #2 was shut down for revamp Uneven distribution of the combustion air
implementation at the end of January 2012. The between the radiant section and the auxiliary
plant returned to ammonia production at the end boiler has limited steam production capacity.
of March 2012, fifteen days after the The plant operates with less than design steam
introduction of feed to the primary reformer. export. The auxiliary boiler cannot be fired to
Currently, the plant is producing about 5% over the required capacity due to a lack of
the design revamp production. combustion air. KBR is working with Kribhco
to resolve the issue.
Most of the problems experienced during startup
of Plant #1 were avoided because of lessons
learned; however, the expander pressure drop
Performance Test Runs
was once again higher than expected. Other The performance test run (PTR) for Plant #2
problems that were experienced are as follows, was successfully completed in November of
most of which were corrected during a 10-day 2012. The test run passed ammonia and CO2
outage. quality and capacity requirements along with the
energy guarantee as shown in Table 3. The
Mole Sieve Support energy consumption includes cooling tower
energy requirement.
The major problem experienced in Plant #2 was
passing of alumina balls and the sieve material
from the bottom of the molecular sieve dryer Conclusion
into the downstream filters. The dryer bottom
collector was not sealed properly and the screen Conversion of the CO2 removal system from the
around the collector opened. hot carbonate system to OASE solvent requires
considerable attention during the start up pre-
The bottom collector was repaired and screens commissioning to clean the system. Once the
were tack welded. The sieve material was system is free of old system deposits, the CO2
reused as per guidance from the sieve material removal operation is trouble free. In this case,
supplier. the CO2 slip from the absorber runs less than
100 ppm versus the design slip of 500 ppm.
Surface Condenser Vacuum
Despite several delays in completing the
During the shutdown, the cooling water piping performance test run, capacity of the unit
around the surface condensers was modified to quickly exceeded the target values.
improve the vacuum. The new header was
installed to supply cooling water directly to the These projects are the first application of a
syngas compressor and the new parallel air PurifierTM revamp in a conventional ammonia
compressor surface condensers instead of plant. The Purifier was able to increase the
through the ammonia refrigeration condenser. capacity by 100 MTPD (110 STPD) more than
conventional revamp. Combined with a lower
Synthesis Gas Compressor Speed Control capital cost per incremental tonne of ammonia,
it provided a greater payback than a
The plant experienced unstable speed control of
conventional revamp.
the synthesis gas compressor. The problem was
resolved by the compressor/turbine vendor by
correcting the software.

2013 37 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 The Purifier operation has demonstrated milder
conditions for the primary reformer and has
debottlenecked the synloop.

There is some room to improve the energy

consumption further as follows:
 The synthesis gas compressor turbine
efficiency is lower than the design.
 The high pressure steam production and
export is less than expected.

KBR is working with Kribhco to resolve these

issues.

Acknowledgments
Kribhco and KBR management are
acknowledged for their leadership in bringing
such a first of a kind revamp project in an
ammonia plant to reality. Further, contributions
of the specialists and engineering team members
of both Kribhco and KBR as well as the
contributions of the operations and maintenance
teams and related suppliers are highly
appreciated and acknowledged.

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 38 2013

 Figure 1: Flow sheet before revamp

Figure 2: Flow sheet conventional revamp

Figure 3: Flow sheet PurifierTM revamp

2013 39 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 Figure 4: KBR cryogenic Purifier Figure 6: New mol sieve driers

Figure 5: Newly added bulk absorber and LP Figure 7: KBR Purifier

HP flash columns

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 40 2013

 After
Before Actual After
Item Unit Revamp
Revamp Revamp
Guaranteed

NH3 Quality Wt.% 99.9 99.8 99.95

CO2 Quality Vol.% Dry 99 99.4 99.61

Basis

Ammonia MTPD 1576 1890 1962

CO2 for Urea MTPD 1960 2300 2484

Feed + Fuel + Power Gcal/MT 8.03 7.8 7.78

+ HP Steam export –
Credit* (LHV)
*Credit for Steam balance changes during detail engineering and feed gas
composition change from design.
There was no steam export during pre revamp operation.
Table 3: Performance test results

2013 41 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 42 2013