Ammonia capacity

Table 5. Feedstocks for World Ammonia Capacity, Annual %...

Table 10. Global Ammonia Capacity and Fertilizer Nitrogen Consumption, 10 t of Elemental Nitrogen ...

AMMONIA CAPACITY AT 25 C SULFUR DIOXIDE CAPACITY AT 25 Molecular Sieve Type A... 

World ammonia capacity increased by nearly 14% from 1984 to 1996 while capacity for urea, the primary downstream nitrogen product, increased by 45%. The increases were due primarily to 1) a desire by some major importing countries to become more self-sufficient and 2) the construction of export-oriented capacity in the Middle East and in the former Soviet Union (prior to its breakup). Ammonium phosphate capacity increased by 9% between 1984 and 1996. Ammonium nitrate capacity declined by 2% from 1984 to 1996 while ammonium sulfate capacity declined by 8%35. 

In the future, developing nations are expected to continue to account for most of the increases in ammonia and urea capacity. Ammonia capacity is expected to increase by about 20 million tonnes and urea capacity by about 12 million tonnes of nitrogen between 1996 and 2002. The availability of relatively low-cost feedstock (usually natural gas) will be a major determinant as to where this new capacity is installed. Ammonium nitrate and ammonium phosphate capacity are also expected to rise35. The following tables summarize anticipated world capacity for nitrogen products by year (Table 3.1) and by major regions or countries (Table 3.2)148. 

Worldwide, ammonia capacity grew from 119 million tonnes in 1980 to a peak of 141 million tonnes in 1989. Virtually all the growth in capacity occurred in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and Asia. Between 1989 and 1995 capacity remained relatively flat, with increases in Asia being offset by closures in Europe and the FSU36. Ammonia demand grew at a rate of 3.2% per year from 1993 to 1998, but the growth rate is expected to slow to 0.5% per year from 1998 through 200237. 

U.S. capacity declined in the 1970s, and it continued to decline during the 1990 s by 5% to 10% to about 13 million tonnes per year. During the 1990 s U.S. ammonia capacity was between 13 million and 14 million tonnes per year with operating rates over 95%. The U.S. capacity is forecast to reach 17 million tonnes per year by 2005. Worldwide ammonia capacity is forecast to grow at over 2% per year and approach 165 million tonnes per year by 200557. 

Table 3.7 and Figure 3.8 show how ammonia capacity grew in different regions from 1974 to 1998. Western Europe s share fell from 13% in 1988 to only 9% in 1998. In 1974 the developing countries accounted for only 27% of ammonia capacity. But by 1998 their share had increased to 51 %36,57. 

Table 3.7. Ammonia Capacity hv Region (thousands of metric tons of N)...

Figure 3.8. Ammonia capacity in different regions. (Reproduced by permission of International Fertilizer Industry Association)...

Figure 3.9. Ammonia capacity at major producers in the Western Hemisphere. (Reprinted by permission of Fertecon)...

Due to increased feedstock costs, some new ammonia plant designs use fuel more efficiently but their capital cost may be higher. The recovery of the hydrogen and ammonia from the synthesis purge gas by a cryogenic unit or a membrane system results in an ammonia capacity increase of about 5%57. 

Trucks have ammonia capacities up to 100 m3 while jumbo rail cars hold up to 150 m3. The different designs are74 ... 

Therefore, it is not surprising that currently about 70% of the world ammonia capacity is based on obtaining hydrogen from natural gas reforming. Of course, the economic analysis of various raw materials used for ammonia production is not complete without considering their relative price and availability which could ultimately dictate the choice for a particular feed. 

Also at times, political factors enter into the choosing of a particular feedstock for ammonia production. Table 2 shows the approximate breakdown of the current world ammonia capacity according to the feedstocks used. The data were derived from SRI s "World Nitrogen" report. CiL)... 

World Ammonia Capacity According To Feedstocks Feedstock % Of NH3 Capacity-1978... 

About one-half of the world s ammonia capacity based on coke-oven gas is located in the Peoples Republic of China. In most cases, the plants using coal, off-gases and water electrolysis are at locations where special circumstances dictate the economic or political viability of the project. They also tend to serve local rather than international markets. 

In the future developing nations are expected to continue to account for most of the increases in ammonia and urea capacity. Ammonia capacity is expected to increase by about 13.5 million tonnes and urea capacity... 

Sasol (Suid-Afrikaans Sintetiese Olie) in South Africa has one of the largest coal gasification production operations in the world with the three plants.1 One plant produces only chemicals and the other plants produce both liquid fuels and chemical feedstocks from coal. In 1994, Sasol s total ammonia capacity was over 500,000 tons per year.54... 

Ammonia is delivered in small containers, tank trucks, tank cars, barges, and via pipeline. The most common small containers are cylindrical steel bottles and pressurized flasks that contain about 20 to 200 kg and polyethylene canisters and metals casks.74 Trucks have ammonia capacities up to 100 m3 whereas jumbo rail cars hold up to 150 m3. Liquid ammonia shipments by barge constitute a larger volume than by road or rail. 

Application To produce methanol from natural or associated gas feedstocks using advanced tubular reforming followed by boiling water reactor synthesis. This technology is an option for capacities up to approximately 3,000 mtpd methanol for cases where carbon dioxide (C02) is available. Topsoe also offers technology for larger-scale methanol facilities up to 10,000 mtpd per production train and technology to modify ammonia capacity into methanol production. 

Table 21 provides an overview of the raw material sources (apart from water and air) for world ammonia capacity. 

The geographical distribution of world ammonia capacity together with the apparent capacity utilization in 1994 is shown in Table 44. Europe and North America, which now together have a 25 % capacity share, lost their leading position (54 % in 1969) to Asia, which now accounts for 38% (17% in 1969), as may be seen from Figure 121. This... 

Table 44. Geographical distribution of ammonia capacity and capacity utilization rate (1994)... 

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