Development of ammonia synthesis catalysts in China

In 1951, A102 catalyst, the first ammonia synthesis catalyst in China, was developed and manufactured by Nanjing Chemical Industry Corporation. A106 and A109 catalysts were developed in 1956 and 1967, respectively, and were widely used in industry, but their activity were low and running temperatures were high. 

In 1979, Zhejiang University of Technology developed successfully, AllO-2 low temperature ammonia synthesis catalysts by adjusting interaction between electronic promoters and structural promoters. This catalyst was the pioneer of Chinese Alio series catalysts. Later, Nanjing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, Fuzhou University, Linqu catalyst plant, Zhengzhou University and Hubei Institute of Chemistry developed AllO-1, AllO-3, AllO-4, A110-5Q (spherical) and AllO-6 ammonia synthesis catalysts, which forms the AllO series catalysts and have been most widely used in China since 1980s. 

In 1986, Zhejiang University of Technology made an important breakthrough on iron catalyst, invented a novel Fei j 0 based catalyst system.In 1992, the first Fei a 0 based catalyst (A301) at low temperatures and pressures was successfully developed, which was superior to the best magnetite-based catalysts in the world. In 1998, they further developed ZA-5 catalyst, and the running temperature was further decreased, which established the technical foundation for low pressure ammonia synthesis process. 

The annual production of ammonia is about 1.8 x 10 tons (from FAO), while the annual demand of the catalyst is about (18 — 23) x 10 tons in the world. In China, the capacity of ammonia synthesis catalysts is about 7,000 tons, the production is about 5,000-6,000 tons recently. Among these catalysts, about 4,500-5,000 tons are supplied to domestic market and the rest, about 1,000 tons, are exported. 

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