Nitric plant

Operating Pressure. All nitric acid plants are based on the same basic chemical operations oxidation of ammonia with air to give nitric oxide, oxidation of the nitric oxide to nitrogen dioxide, and absorption in water to give a solution of nitric acid. The efficiency of the first step is favored by low pressure whereas that of the second step is favored by high pressure. Therefore both single-pressure and dual-pressure nitric plants are operating.97... 

Figure 27.6 N O conversion versus temperature over Fe-ZSM5 in simulated tail gases from acid nitric plant. Conditions ( ) 4.5 mbar N2O, (O) 4.5 mbar N2O + 70 mbar O2, ( ) 4.5 mbar N2O +1 mbar NO, (O) 4.5 mbar N2O +15 mbar...

Because of the highly corrosive nature of the nitric acid streams, adipic acid plants are constmcted of stainless steel, or titanium in the more corrosive areas, and thus have high investment costs. 

Air pollution can be considered to have three components sources, transport and transformations in the atmosphere, and receptors. The source emits airborne substances that, when released, are transported through the atmosphere. Some of the substances interact with sunlight or chemical species in the atmosphere and are transformed. Pollutants that are emitted directiy to the atmosphere are called primary pollutants pollutants that are formed in the atmosphere as a result of transformations are called secondary pollutants. The reactants that undergo transformation are referred to as precursors. An example of a secondary pollutant is O, and its precursors are NMHC and nitrogen oxides, NO, a combination of nitric oxide [10102-43-9] NO, and NO2. The receptor is the person, animal, plant, material, or ecosystem affected by the emissions. 

The cooled, dried chlorine gas contains - 2% HCl and up to 10% O2, both of which are removed by Hquefaction. A full scale 600-t/day plant was built by Du Pont ia 1975. This iastaHatioa at Corpus Christi, Texas operates at 1.4 MPa (13.8 atm) and 120—180°C and uses tantalum-plated equipment and pipes. Oxidation of HCl Chloride by JSHtricHcid. The nitrosyl chloride [2696-92-6] route to chlorine is based on the strongly oxidi2iag properties of nitric acid... 

Ammonia from coal gasification has been used for fertilizer production at Sasol since the beginning of operations in 1955. In 1964 a dedicated coal-based ammonia synthesis plant was brought on stream. This plant has now been deactivated, and is being replaced with a new faciUty with three times the production capacity. Nitric acid is produced by oxidation and is converted with additional ammonia into ammonium nitrate fertilizers. The products are marketed either as a Hquid or in a soHd form known as Limestone Ammonium Nitrate. Also, two types of explosives are produced from ammonium nitrate. The first is a mixture of fuel oil and porous ammonium nitrate granules. The second type is produced by emulsifying small droplets of ammonium nitrate solution in oil. 

Nonetheless, production and use of nitric phosphates ia Europe are continuing to grow. In general, nitric phosphate processes are somewhat more compHcated than sulfur-based processes and requite higher investment. In the past, several attempts have been made to estabHsh commercial acceptance of this type process ia the United States, but plant operations have been relatively short Hved because of low sulfur prices and resultant competition from sulfur-based processes. 

Hafnium neutron absorption capabilities have caused its alloys to be proposed as separator sheets to allow closer spacing of spent nuclear fuel rods in interim holding ponds. Hafnium is the preferred material of constmction for certain critical mass situations in spent fuel reprocessing plants where hafnium s excellent corrosion resistance to nitric acid is also important. 

Opa.nte. There are two methods used at various plants in Russia for loparite concentrate processing (12). The chlorination technique is carried out using gaseous chlorine at 800°C in the presence of carbon. The volatile chlorides are then separated from the calcium—sodium—rare-earth fused chloride, and the resultant cake dissolved in water. Alternatively, sulfuric acid digestion may be carried out using 85% sulfuric acid at 150—200°C in the presence of ammonium sulfate. The ensuing product is leached with water, while the double sulfates of the rare earths remain in the residue. The titanium, tantalum, and niobium sulfates transfer into the solution. The residue is converted to rare-earth carbonate, and then dissolved into nitric acid. 

J. W. Pepper, Effect of Nitric Oxide Control on MHD-Steam Power Plant Economics andPeformance, SU-IPR Report No. 614, Institute for Plasma Research, Stanford University, Calif., Dec. 1974. 

Centrifugal separators are used in many modem processes to rapidly separate the hydrocarbon and used acid phases. Rapid separation greatly reduces the amounts of nitrated materials in the plant at any given time. After an explosion in a TNT plant (16), decanters (or gravity separators) were replaced with centrifugal separators. In addition, rapid separation allows the hydrocarbon phase to be quickly processed for removal of the dissolved nitric acid, NO, etc. These dissolved materials lead to undesired side reactions. The organic phase generally contains some unreacted hydrocarbons in addition to the nitrated product. 

Dual-Pressure Process. Dual-pressure processes have a medium pressure (ca 0.3—0.6 MPa) front end for ammonia oxidation and a high pressure (1.1—1.5 MPa) tail end for absorption. Some older plants still use atmospheric pressure for ammonia conversion. Compared to high monopressure plants, the lower oxidation pressure improves ammonia yield and catalyst performance. Platinum losses are significantiy lower and production mns are extended by a longer catalyst life. Reduced pressure also results in weaker nitric acid condensate from the cooler condenser, which helps to improve absorber performance. Due to the spHt in operating conditions, the dual-pressure process requires a specialized stainless steel NO compressor. 

NO Abatement. Source performance standards for nitric acid plants in the United States were introduced by the U.S. EPA in 1971 (55). These imposed a discharge limit of 1.5 kg of NO as equivalent nitrogen dioxide per 1000 kg of contained nitric acid, which corresponds to about 200—230... 

Process Licensors. Some of the well-known nitric acid technology licensors are fisted in Table 3. Espindesa, Grande Paroisse, Humphreys and Glasgow, Rhfyne Poulenc, Uhde, and Weatherly are all reported to be licensors of weak acid technology. Most weak acid plant licensors offer extended absorption for NO abatement. Espindesa, Rhfyne Poulenc, Weatherly, and Uhde are also reported (53,57) to offer selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology. 

United States, Canada, Mexico, western Europe, and Japan, producer lists indicating plant location, size, product concentration, and data on nitric acid use. Table 4. U.S. Production of Nitric Acid/ 10 t/yr, 100% Basis... 

Alternative Control Techniques Document Nitric and Adipic Acid Manufacturing Plants, EPA-450/3-91-026, EPA, Research Triangle Park, N.C., Dec. 1991. 

The low (ca 2%) yield of NO, the tendency to revert to N2 and O2 if the product stream is not quenched rapidly, the consumption of large (ca 60,000 kWh/1N2 fixed) amounts of electricity, and the concomitant expense to sustain the arc all led to the demise of this process. The related Wisconsin process for oxidising N2 at high temperatures in a pebble-bed furnace was developed in the 1950s (13). Although a plant that produced over 40 t/d of nitric acid was built, the product recovery costs were not economically competitive. 

Whereas addition of hydrogen to feedwater helps solve the O2 or ECP problem, other complications develop. An increase in shutdown radiation levels and up to a fivefold increase in operating steam plant radiation levels result from the increased volatiUty of the short-Hved radioactive product nitrogen-16, N, (7.1 s half-life) formed from the coolant passing through the core. Without H2 addition, the in the fluid leaving the reactor core is in the form of nitric acid, HNO with H2 addition, the forms ammonia, NH, which is more volatile than HNO, and thus is carried over with the steam going to the turbine. 

Fuel Dissolution. In the American and British plants, LWR fuel pieces typically fall directly from the shear into a dissolver basket, which fits inside the dissolver vessel. A soluble poison such as gadolinium is added to the nitric acid to prevent criticahty. The massive end fittings are sometimes separated from the fuel pieces before the latter enter the dissolver. The French have installed continuous rotary dissolvers in the UP3 and UP2-800 plants at La Hague. The units each consist of a dmm rotating within a geometrically favorable slab tank (13). 

The metal dissolves readily in concentrated HCl, H PO, HI, or HCIO. Nitric acid (qv) forms a protective oxide skin on the metal and can be removed by ca 0.05 Af HF. Dissolution of Pu metal in HNO —HF mixtures is common practice in scrap-recovery plants. The metal does not dissolve readily in H2SO4 because passivation of the metal surface occurs. The reaction of water and Pu metal is slow compared to that in HCl, HI, or HCIO. ... 

Ammonia and nitric acid are the two basic ingredients in the manufacture of ammonium nitrate. In addition to consuming ammonia directly, the manufacture of ammonium nitrate consumes ammonia by way of nitric acid production. The largest single use of nitric acid is that of ammonium nitrate production (see Ammonium compounds). Urea (qv) is manufactured by reacting ammonia and carbon dioxide. Urea manufacturing faciHties are often located close to ammonia plants. 

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