World ammonia capacity

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

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. 

Figure 3.12. World ammonia capacity compared to consumption. (Reproduced by permission of Fertecon)...

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... 

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... 

Ammonia is the principal component in the fertilizer production. The world ammonia capacity for 1995-1996 is estimated at 123,640,000 tons of nitrogen per year [70], Ammonia plants are high energy consumers, and selection of the feedstocks is the most important factor in determining the capital investment and production costs. The availability and cost of raw materials are factors to be taken into account when deciding on the construction of a new ammonia plant. The primary feedstocks for ammonia production include natural gas, naphtha, heavy residual oil, coke gas, and coal. Of all these feedstocks, natural gas is the raw material of choice when available because it ensures minimum investment and production costs, a plant that is easy to operate, and minimal environmental problems. Therefore, steam reforming of natural gas has become the most widespread process for ammonia production. 

Of the raw material hydrogen sources—natural gas, coal, and petroleum fractions—natural gas is the most often employed in ammonia plants in the 1990s and steam reforming is by far the most often used process. Partial oxidation processes are utilized where steam-reformable feeds are not available or in special situations where local conditions exist to provide favorable economics. Table 5 lists the contribution of the various feedstocks to world ammonia capacity in 1983 and 1987 (31). 

An estimate of world ammonia capacity for 1932-33, showed that the Haber-Bosch process represented 53 per cent, Casale 16 per cent, Fauser 11 per cent, Claude 8 per cent, Mont Cenis 6 per cent, Nitrogen Engineering Corporation (USA) 5 per cent, and Showa Hiryo (Japan) 1 per cent. Together the various operational plants had the ability to produce three million tons of ammonia nitrogen, though by 1935 only 43 per cent of this figure was actually manufactured. ... 

Before World War II (1939), three million tpy of nitrogen was produced as ammonia 90% was derived from coal and coke. By 1960, about 16 million tpy of ammonia was produced using cheaply available natural gas in the United States [5]. Naphtha became the most common feedstock in other developed countries because of its low price, and some fuel oil was eJso used. Naphtha became more popular with the development of the Imperial Chemicd Industries (ICl) stearrureforming process for naphtha and led to many new plants around the world. Soon, many of these plants closed as a result of the increase in the price of naphtha because of its increased demand and the 1973 oil crisis. Since 1975, the primary feedstock of most new plants is natural gas, with about 78% of the world ammonia capacity as shown in Figure 6.2. 

World capacity of ammonia production was 113 million tonne per year (expressed as N) in 1985 and is now (1990) somewhat in excess of this. The forecast for the early 1990s is that world ammonia capacity will reach 125 x 10 t N per year. There are now more than 600 plants in operation, with most modern plants having an output of about 1000-1500 tonne per day, but a substantial amount of ammonia is still produced by plants which have a smaller capacity than this (Table A.l). A census in 1981 gave 40 producers of ammonia in the United States, some with several plants, but many were shut down. ... 

Of current world ammonia capacity—about 140 million short tons—70 percent is based... 

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