Revamping Ammonia Plants to Follow

Feedstock Situation and Market Demands

by
Peter Vang Christensen
Haldor Topse A/S, Lyngby, Denmark

Presented at the FAI symposium on Improving Productivity of Ammonia and Urea Plants
April 19-20, 2001 New Delhi, India

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Introduction
The present paper deals with the changeover of feedstock from naphtha to LNG or dual
feedstock in ammonia plants. Furthermore the paper will describe various options to be
considered in connection with revamping of ammonia plants in general. Finally, the approach
applied by Topse when carrying out a revamp study will be described.

Changeover of Feedstock
The changeover of feedstock from naphtha to LNG or a mixture of the two feedstocks in
general requires limited changes to the existing process equipment. Typically, the
modifications required are limited to upstream the reforming section.
In Figure 1 a typical lay-out of the desulphurization and reforming sections of a pure naphthabased plant is illustrated.

Figure 1: Desulphurization and Reforming Section

When revamping existing naphtha-based plants to handle LNG as supplementary feedstock, it
is normally proposed to mix the two feedstocks upstream of the fired heater and then preheat
the mixture to the inlet temperature of the desulphurization unit.
The performance of the existing fired heater of course need to be checked at the new
operating conditions to ensure that the required duty can be transferred, and that the pressure
drop on the process side does not get prohibitive. In case it turns out that the existing heater
cannot handle the new operating conditions, it is investigated if the existing fired heater can
be modified to meet the new conditions, or if a completely new heater will be required. In

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case a new fired heater is required, it is normally recommended to install a new heater
preheating the LNG in parallel with the existing heater preheating the naphtha. The two
preheated feed streams are then mixed upstream the desulphurization section.
In case LNG completely substitutes naphtha as feed and fuel, the naphtha deaeration (and
predesulphurization if present) can be taken out of operation.
The existing final desulphurization section will typically be able to handle the sulphur content
in the LNG. However, in case the sulphur content in the LNG is on the high side, additional
sulphur removal equipment can be installed.
With regard to the naphtha fuel system this needs to be checked for operation on LNG.
Normally, it will be required to replace the burner nozzles, since the Wobbe number of the
fuel is significantly changed.
The operation of the prereformer (if present), the primary reformer as well as the flue gas
waste heat section need careful checking for the new operating conditions. Typically no
modifications to these sections will be required in connection with the conversion of
feedstock to LNG.
Downstream the reforming section the influence on the operation due to the change in
feedstock will be limited. The process section mostly affected is the CO2 removal section. As
the carbon content of LNG is lower than that of naphtha, the load on the CO2 removal section
will go down for the same production rate of ammonia, and less CO2 will be vented from the
CO2 removal section.
As can be seen from the above the required changes in connection with the conversion of
feedstock from naphtha to LNG are normally rather limited. However, in order to establish
the most favorable solution for a specific plant a detailed study will be required.

Topses Experience with Designing for Dual Feedstock Operation

In connection with design of ammonia plants operating on dual feedstocks the following
Topse-designed Indian ammonia plants shall be highlighted.
TATA, Babrala
This ammonia plant designed by Topse was designed for full flexibility in feed and fuel.
This means that the plant has been designed to operate on 100 % naphtha, 100% natural gas
or any mixture of these.
The plant was successfully started up in 1994.

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IFFCO, Aonla II NFL Vijaipur II

These two ammonia plants were designed to operate as mixed feed plants, meaning that up to
40% of the feedstock can be natural gas, and the balance feedstock is naphtha. For these
plants a mixed feed control strategy was developed by Topse. The fuel for the primary
reformer burners is natural gas.
The plants were started up in 1996/1997.
IFFCO, Kalol Revamp
This plant was originally a natural gas-based plant. Due to shortage of gas it was decided to
install a naphtha add-on unit based on prereforming to be able to operate the plant as a dual
feedstock unit.
The add-on unit was started up in 1997.
As can be recognised from the above examples Topse is well acquainted with feedstock
changeovers, and the experience even covers the ability to design full flexible units like the
TATA, Babrala plant.

Revamp Options in General

In the following a few of the revamp options to be considered in connection with revamp of
ammonia plants will be highlighted. It is realized that the listed options are a small selection
only of the numerous revamp options available with Topse. Considering the current situation
in India, focus will be on revamp options resulting in energy savings:

Flue Gas Waste Heat Section

Steam to Carbon Ratio
Secondary Reformer Burner
Condensate Stripping with MP Steam
S-300 Ammonia Converter

Flue Gas Waste Heat Section

One way of improving the energy efficiency of a plant is to decrease the stack temperature to
as low a level as possible.
In a revamp situation this typically can be accomplished in one of the following ways,
provided that the required space is available in the reformer area.

Introduction of combustion air preheat

Introduction of low pressure steam production
Introduction of BFW or DMW preheat

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All these modifications require that a new heat exchanger coil is installed in the flue gas
channel just upstream the flue gas fan.
Introduction of combustion air preheat requires installation of combustion air blower, air
preheater, air ducting and new burners. The flame temperature will increase and therefore the
reformer tubes should be checked at the new operating conditions. The energy saving is
obtained due to reduced consumption in fuel to the primary reformer.
In connection with conversion from naphtha to LNG this revamp option is often
advantageous, as modification to the primary reformer burners will be required anyway.
Introduction of low pressure steam production or preheating of BFW or DMW is a more
simple solution as it will only require installation of a coil connected to the relevant parts of
the steam/water system. The energy saving is in low level heat.
By reducing the stack temperature by approximately 100C the energy saving will be
approximately 0.10 Gcal/MT of NH3.
Steam to Carbon (S/C) Ratio
Reduction of the S/C ratio will result in energy savings in the form of reduced heat input to
the primary reformer and in savings in process steam. Also a lower front-end pressure drop
will be obtained, resulting in energy savings in the synthesis gas compressor.
The minimum allowable S/C ratio is typically determined by requirements set by the
downstream shift section. With todays Cu-promoted high-temperature shift catalysts the S/C
ratio can be reduced to approximately 2.8 without any problems.
Also the heat requirement of the CO2 removal process can be a hindrance for reducing the S/C
ratio. Based on the actual CO2 removal process various possibilities exist to reduce the energy
consumption. In this connection the following revamp features should be mentioned:

Introduction of solvent flash at regenerator exit

Change of packing materials in the towers
Change of activator in the existing solution
Change to another type of solution (solution swap). This modification often requires some
changes to the existing process lay-out as well

The energy savings obtained in connection with improvements in the CO2 removal section
will typically be in the range of 0.10-0.35 Gcal/MT of NH3.
The energy savings obtained in connection with reducing the S/C ratio from, say 4 to 3, will
be approximately 0.20 Gcal/MT of NH3.

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Secondary Reformer Burner

Design of the secondary reformer has been
improved by introduction of a new Topse
designed nozzle burner as shown in Figure 2. This
type of burner has proved to be maintenance-free
compared to older types of burners, and has added
to the plant reliability. Therefore, even though
installation of this burner will not directly result in
energy savings, it will add to savings in the form of
a higher on-stream factor and reduced maintenance
cost.

.
Figure 2: Nozzle Burner
Process Condensate Stripping with MP Steam
In case the existing condensate stripping system is based on stripping with LP steam, this
system can be improved by the introduction of condensate stripping with MP steam. Process
condensate will be stripped by the process steam and no gaseous effluents from the unit will
be present. A very pure condensate stream going to the DMW will be the result.
Figure 3: Process Condensate Stripping using MP Steam

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A typical energy saving by the introduction of MP condensate stripping will be approximately

0.10 Gcal/MT of NH3.
S-300 Ammonia Converter
The Topse S-300 converter three bed radial flow
converter - being a further development of the S-200
converter is another candidate in a revamp job, whether
it is a converter revamp job only or a more general
revamp project.
Almost ten years ago the first S-300 converter was
started-up as a result of an in-situ modification of a
MWK three-bed converter. The modification comprised changes from axial flow to radial flow for all
three beds and installation of an internal heat exchanger
between 2nd and 3rd catalyst bed.
Today, a total of 13 S-300 converters are in operation
or under construction. As a further development and in
particular interest to the existing S-200 converters with
a full-open pressure shell is the possibility to install a
new S-300 converter basket with interbed heat
exchangers between both 1st and 2nd catalyst bed and
2nd and 3rd catalyst bed in the existing pressure shell.
Figure 4: S-300 Converter
An important advantage with the newest design is that no modifications to piping, valves etc.
outside the pressure shell is required. Furthermore, the simplicity in operation of an S-200
converter, which is highly appreciated by the industry, is still maintained with the new S-300
converter.

Execution of a Revamp Project

In the following the Topse approach to a revamp project is described. The first phase will
be to carry out a revamp study to establish the most favorable revamp scheme in accordance
with the objective of the revamp.
Revamp Study
Based on the objective of the revamp, which is defined in collaboration with the client, the
target is to establish with reasonable accuracy the possible capacity increase and/or energy
savings obtainable, and the capital expenditures required for materializing these benefits. In
order to have a sound basis for arriving at the most favorable solution, the study work will
include the following activities.

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Site visit to the plant by Topse engineers (about one week) for data collection and
preliminary identification of revamp possibilities. In order to have the best basis for
evaluating any additional capacity of the equipment and identify possible bottlenecks, the
data collected should be at the highest obtainable production rate. During this site visit the
actual plant operation is discussed with the operating personnel. As they possess key
knowledge about the behavior of the specific plant, it is very valuable to have their view
on the equipment capabilities and comments on any peculiarities in the plant operation.

Based on the data collected during the site visit, a base case reflecting the actual plant
operation in the form of flowsheets with consistent heat and mass balances will be
established. These flowsheets are discussed thoroughly with the client, as they form the
basis for the further revamp study.

Based on the operation reflected in the base case the performance of the equipment is
evaluated. As an example, the performance of a heat exchanger is determined by a process
simulation of the existing exchanger based on the actual geometry of this equipment. The
present performance of the exchanger is calculated at the base case operating conditions
and used when simulating the performance of the exchanger at the revamp conditions.

Based on the equipment evaluations carried out at the base case conditions, the
bottlenecks in the various sections of the plant can be identified and the relevant revamp
options can be pinpointed. In this phase various options are studied to come up with the
best solution in order to arrive at the possible capacity increase and/or energy savings and
the related investment. This phase of the study will comprise process engineering of the
required modifications to the existing equipment as well as specification of new
equipment. Also mechanical engineering will be employed for check of critical items as
required. The engineering will be sufficiently detailed for developing a cost estimate
based on installed cost for the revamp project. In this phase of the study, the existing plot
plan is studied carefully to utilize possible available space for any new equipment
foreseen as part of the revamp.

The study will also contain a proposed time schedule for implementation of the proposed
revamp scheme and emphasis will be put on the detailed logistic arrangements required to
interfere as little as possible with the existing operation in order to minimize the required
down time. Tie-in philosophy is proposed to make minimum impact on the plant
operation, and normally the target is to be able to implement the required modifications
during a normal turn around.

When the proposed revamp scheme has been arrived at, this is jointly discussed with the
client before the final study report is issued. The study report will typically comprise the
following:

Description and flowsheets for the base case

Description and flowsheets for the revamp case(s)
Production and consumption figures for the base case and revamp case(s)
List of new equipment and modifications to existing equipment
Specification of new equipment and modifications to existing equipment
Cost estimate for the revamp case(s)
Identification of possible tie-in points
Preliminary time schedule

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Revamp Project
If the revamp scheme identified and described in the revamp study is attractive to the client,
the next phase will often be to implement the revamp scheme in the plant. During this project
phase Topse can undertake the complete revamp project on a main contractor basis or, if
desired, our involvement can be less comprehensive, e.g. in collaboration with a local
contractor or direct involvement of the client.