Optimizing the Installation and Operation of a New

3-Bed Ammonia Synthesis Converter Basket

After serving for about 18 years, Haldor Topsoe design S-200 basket was replaced in 2009 with a new
S-300 basket. The changeout was completed within the scheduled time and proved to be a successful
project as both the production and efficiency were appreciably higher than the design figures.

In 1992, in the high pressure Synthesis loop of a 1,000 MTPD ammonia plant of Haldor Topsoe design
a new S-200 basket was installed to upgrade the design capacity of the unit to 1,220 MTPD. By year
2008, the production demand from the converter had increased to more than 1350 MTPD thus
warranting a change of catalyst and better design. Catalyst activity had decreased and was causing a
high loop pressure i.e. 269 kg/cm2g (3826 psig). Meticulous planning and execution of the project,
including catalyst services in an inert atmosphere, resulted in significant lesser time to execute the
change-out. This paper describes various steps taken to minimize the change-out time without
sacrificing the safety of personnel and equipment. Commissioning was also a unique experience
starting from catalyst reduction till the converter optimization with the help of simulation tools. New S-
300 was able to produce 1,492 MTPD ammonia apart from significant reduction in the energy
consumption.

Ather Iqbal and Noor-ul-Hassan

Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd., Goth Machhi, Pakistan

Introduction
Plant-II was commissioned in March 1993 with

F auji Fertilizer Company (FFC) is the

largest urea manufacturer in Pakistan,
operating three ammonia-urea plants; two
at Goth Machhi and one at Mirpur Mathelo. The
first plant (Plant-I) was commissioned in 1982 at
Goth Machhi with design capacities of 1,000 and
1,725 metric tonnes ammonia and urea per day,
respectively. The ammonia plant employed
conventional Haldor Topsoe design, while the
urea plant was based on Saipem (Snamprogetti)
ammonia stripping technology. The plant was
successfully revamped to 122.5 % of design
capacity in 1992 after installing a new 2 bed
basket.
design capacities of 1,100 and 1,925 metric
tonnes ammonia and urea per day, respectively.
The ammonia plant was based on Haldor Topsoe
low energy process, incorporating a Medium
Temperature Shift Reactor.
Plant-III at Mirpur Mathelo was acquired in
2002 and was similar in design to Plant-I; design
capacities were 1,000 and 1,740 metric tonnes
ammonia and urea per day, respectively. This
plant was also successfully revamped to 125 %
of design capacity in 2008.

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 Ammonia-I Plant
The ammonia plant being discussed in this paper
is the one at Goth Machhi (also designated as
Plant-I).
Process Description
Ammonia-I plant is a conventional Haldor
Topsoe design of the late seventies, featuring
high steam to carbon ratio (3.75), hot potassium
carbonate system for carbon dioxide removal and
ammonia synthesis loop operating at high
pressure.
It consisted of desulfurization, conventional
reforming and high and low temperature shift
conversion sections in the front-end. The carbon
dioxide removal section utilizes the Benfield
technology from UOP, which was up-rated to
Benfield Lo-Heat process in 2004, followed by a
methanation reactor.
The synthesis loop operates at a very high
pressure of 267 kg/cm2g (3798 psig). All the
major compressors i.e., process air, synthesis gas
and ammonia refrigeration are centrifugal
compressors driven by steam turbines.
A simplified process flow diagram of the
Ammonia-I plant is presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Ammonia-I Process Flow Diagram
Operational History
The plant started production in 1982 and had the
distinction of achieving the design capacity in
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
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the first year of its operation. The ammonia
production from the plant was increased to 115%
of the original design by 1990 with small
modifications.
Ammonia Converter
The ammonia converter internals consisted of an
Haldor Topsoe designed S-200 basket installed
in 1991 as a part of the plant revamp, replacing
the original S-100 converter basket.
The catalyst loaded in 1991 required replacement
owing to deteriorated performance with respect
to lower conversion efficiency and higher
approach to equilibrium after 18 years of
satisfactory performance. In order to gain
maximum benefit of plant outage owing to
catalyst change-out, replacement of S-200 with
S-300 was also synchronized.
Study for Three-Bed Basket
The 3-bed concept with cooling between the
catalyst beds gives high conversion for each
converter pass; since for each bed the achievable
conversion is limited by the equilibrium of the
ammonia synthesis reaction. The pressure drop is
slightly higher but is outweighed by advantage
of higher conversion and lower loop pressure.
An added advantage is that the synthesis gas
chilling duty is shifted from the ammonia
refrigeration circuit to the synthesis loop water
cooler because of higher ammonia concentration
at the converter outlet. The synthesis loop
operation at milder conditions leaves room for
possible future capacity increase. Thus the
ammonia converter with a 3-bed converter
basket was indeed found to be an attractive
option.
Selected Basket
Haldor Topsoe S-300 radial flow converter
basket was selected for installation in the original
ammonia synthesis converter pressure shell,
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[314] AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
 being a highly efficient converter based on three
adiabatic converter beds with inter-bed cooling.
The new S-300 consists of a feed / effluent
exchanger at the bottom (lower heat exchanger -
LHE), a catalyst section comprising three radial
flow adiabatic beds and two inter-bed heat
exchangers (IHEs) in the centre of the upper part
of the catalyst sections, i.e. 1st and 2nd beds.
The entire inlet gas is circulated through all
converter beds resulting in a higher conversion.
The mechanical design was based on the well-
proven S-200 converter basket. Therefore, the
same reliable operation was expected with the S-
300 converter as with the S-200 design.
Gas Flow Path
In the new S-300 basket, there was a change in
the synthesis gas flow distribution from the
original scheme of the S-200 converter (in which
the bulk flow through the main control valve was
passed across the LHE while remaining flow was
directed to the IHE using a separate control
valve). The swapping of converter inlets was
necessary so that the synthesis gas from the main
control valve passed through the IHEs while
remaining gas would be directed to pass across
LHE. This change required drilling in the
pressure shell to accommodate larger size
flexible pipe.

No major modifications / replacement of the Advantages

shell, piping or other loop equipment were
required, except for the swapping of the internal
inlet / IHE feed gas connections for the new
basket.
A sketch of the S-300 converter basket is
presented in Figure 2.
The following advantages were foreseen:

Higher conversion per pass - increased
ammonia production

Reduced synthesis loop pressure – resulting
in compression-energy saving

Reduced inert level – lower purge gas rate

Suitability for future capacity revamps

Two revamp conditions were forecasted at two

inert levels (16.5% and 19.5%), obtaining
maximum converter outlet temperature of 380 °C
(716 °F) and 360 °C (680 °F), respectively; 360
°C (716 °F) being the original design
temperature.

Operating parameters expected after the new

basket installation are presented in Table 1.

Description S-200 S-300

Production rate, MTPD 1345 1368
Converter inlet pressure, 266 264
kg/cm2g
Converter outlet temperature, °C 363 360
Ammonia at converter inlet, 3.85 3.62
mole%
Ammonia at converter outlet, 17.1 17.24
mole%
Inert gases in the loop, mole% 11.67 19.5
Purge gas flow, Nmc/hr 11,876 6,059
Table 1: Operating parameters comparison
Figure 2: New S-300 Basket

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 Project Planning and Execution
Challenges
The replacement of catalyst and the basket
involved specialized manpower services to work
under Immediate Danger to Life and Health
(IDLH) environment as the entire activity was to
be performed in inert (nitrogen) atmosphere
owing to the pyrophoric nature of the reduced
synthesis catalyst. Vendor qualification was a
significant task due to the critical nature of the
job requiring both well trained manpower to
work under IDLH conditions and special tools
and improved methods and equipment, (such as
high capacity vacuum unit with continuous
unloading) for removing the 18 year old partly
fused catalyst. Moreover, the turnaround was
planned based on the time duration of this
critical job and meticulous efforts were put in to
save time where possible without compromising
on the job quality and safety of both manpower
and the equipment.
Vendor qualification for IDLH
Eight different companies recommended by
Haldor Topsøe were contacted to supply
specialized services to carry out S-200 basket
unloading / removal (under IDLH conditions)
and installation of S-300 basket. Subsequent to
detailed technical and commercial evaluation,
Contract Resources (CR-Asia), Singapore was
awarded the contract to execute the project.
The committed execution schedule offered by
CR-Asia was better than others, with a saving of
turnaround timing by 37 hours. Some salient
features of CR-Asia equipment are given below:

High capacity vacuum units; one in operation
and second as standby

Two stage continuous operation cyclone
separation unit

Metallic unloading pipes to avoid melting /
damage owing of hot pyrophoric catalyst

Separate cyclone based dust removal system
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
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Chep-bins (sealed containers having nitrogen
blanketing to avoid heating up of reduced
catalyst)

Three way redundant breathing air-supply
system (compressor, air cylinders, plant air-
supply plug-in along with small emergency
air-bottles fitted on each heat resistant air-
cooled IDLH suites) for vessel entry
technicians
Pre-Arrangements
CR-Asia visited the plant site in advance and had
a detailed discussion on the job preparation with
FFC project team. CR-Asia team was available a
week before the scheduled turnaround time to
ensure job preparation and pre-requisites
including supplies from FFC. The unloading
system was installed with necessary functional
tests on synthesis converter well before start of
the turnaround activities.
Figure 3: Catalyst Unloading Arrangements
Maintenance shutdowns are a key part of the
annual budget of fertilizer plants and plant
downtime contributes the major chunk of this
cost. Each activity of the S-200 basket
replacement job was given a special
consideration to reduce this plant downtime cost
without jeopardizing safety and quality of the
job. Some breakthrough ideas were emerged,
such as dismantling the S-300 basket outside
pressure shell prior to plant shutdown. While it is
a conventional practice to install the complete S-
300 basket inside the pressure shell and then
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[316] AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
 remove 1st bed, 2nd bed and inter-bed heat
exchanger to access and load the catalyst. Thirty
hours of downtime was saved by executing this
activity prior to plant shutdown.

To dismantle the S-300 basket prior to plant

shutdown, the basket along with its transport
container was erected and supported with the
existing pressure shell supporting structure. The
1st and 2nd bed cartridges, and IHE were removed
one by one from converter basket and placed on
structures designed and erected for this purpose.
These temporary support structures were also
used as working platforms to prepare the bed
cartridges and IHE for installation.
Figure 5: Tailing / Main Crane arrangement for
basket installation

Two truck mounted cranes of 250 tons and 120

tons were also involved in the replacement
activity. Shifting of basket to the site and vertical
erection of the basket was completed with these
cranes, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 4: Removed 1st & 2nd Beds

Rigging Plan
An overhead crane of 50 tons is installed on the
top of Ammonia Converter. This built-in
resource can be utilized for rigging of basket
internals within limited distance. This crane was
insufficient tor installation of the entire
assembled S-300 basket at 50.5 tons. Using a
truck mounted crane to insert S-300 basket
inside pressure shell was risky because of limited
space available on Convertor top. The Figure 6: IHEs Removal Platform
dismantling of S-300 basket outside the pressure
shell resolved this matter. By dismantling the
basket, the largest lift load (comprised of the Special Fixture for Shell Drilling
basket and 3rd bed cartridge), was reduced to 32
tons: well within safe limits of over head crane. Drilling of 8 holes of 20 mm (0.79 inch)
diameter (M20 metric) in the pressure shell were

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 required to accommodate larger size flexible environment for the manpower to work inside
pipe for the change in synthesis gas flow the reactor was given special consideration.
distribution. Several ingenious ideas like cooling of the
circulation gas with refrigeration chillers in
The material of this multi layered pressure shell service to minimum possible temperature and
is ASTM A333 Gr. F1. In order to ensure perfect passing of gas through startup heater for heat
drilling, a pressure shell mock-up of was built exchange with ambient air were employed.
having similar curvatures, hardness and number These measures proved successful in bringing
of layers as that of the pressure shell. To down the reactor temperature to below 45 °C
facilitate drilling operation and ensure centricity (113 °F) within 12 hours, while maintaining a
of holes, a customized jig was designed with maximum cool down rate of less than 50 °C (122
following features: °F) per hour.

This jig is inserted inside the nozzle and then
it is expanded with a threaded mechanism so S.No. Description
Time,
that it can grip the nozzle from inside. Hrs

It provides a rigid and leveled platform for 1 Shutdown, cooling, purging with N2 44
mounting of magnetic drill machine. 2 Preparation for catalyst removal 37
st

Holes in the base plate of jig provided 3 Removal of catalyst from 1 bed 26
st nd
guidance to the drill bit of magnetic drill 4
Removal of 1 bed cartridge, 2 bed
20
machine. cover

It ensured bolt circle diameter (BCD) and 5 Removal of catalyst from 2nd bed 50
alignment of holes with respect to nozzle. 6 Removal of S-200 basket from HP shell 16
7 Preparation & Inspection of HP Shell 40
st nd rd
Removal of 1 bed, IHEs, 2 bed & 3
8 30
Turnaround Execution bed cover
Installation of S-300 basket, bottom
Converter basket replacement job was on critical 9
forging & Preparation for loading
16
path so the plant downtime was directly linked to
Drilling and tapping of threaded holes
it. Due attention was paid to each activity during 10
in HP shell
28
planning phase to reduce the job execution
11 Catalyst loading in 3rd bed 30
timing. A total time of 476 hrs was planned for rd nd
Installation of 3 bed cover & 2 bed
the job including equipment handover. 12 24
cartridge
13 Catalyst loading in 2nd bed 13
This was a challenging target compared to the nd st
experience shared by other fertilizer industries Installation of 2 bed cover, IHEs & 1
14 30
bed cartridge
for similar job scopes. Problem encountered at
those locations were given special 15 Catalyst loading in 1st bed 13
considerations. Detailed timings are presented in Installation of basket &HP covers,
16 59
pipes and thermowells
Table 2.
Total duration, Hours 476
Table 2: Planned timings
Innovative Approaches and Safety
Considerations during Vessel A huge reservoir of liquid nitrogen from local
Preparation for Installation of S-300 supplier was made available with maximum flow
basket rate of purge nitrogen @ 500 Nm3/hr. A number
of purge points at upstream and downstream of
Reactor cooling and purging is a very important
the reactor resulted in very effective, safe and
step towards reactor handover. Comfortable

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2011 [318] AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
 timely handover of the reactor and synthesis loop
well within the planned duration of 44 hours.
Figure 7: Nitrogen Reservoir
Lifting of pressure shell cover (weighing 7.3
tons) using over head crane was done after
removal of thermocouple junction boxes,
thermocouples, thermo-wells and the stuffing
boxes.
Flexible pipes, 1st bed cover etc. removed to
make the 1st bed ready for catalyst removal.
After installation of temporary lid cover,
necessary connections and sealing nitrogen
circulation was started.
Figure8: Lifting of HP shell / 1st bed covers
With all safety measures, unloading of catalyst
was started under nitrogen circulation. Catalyst
from 1st bed was removed without any
2011
2011
mentionable problem followed by 1st bed
removal. Catalyst unloading from 2nd bed was
started, but the catalyst was badly fused at the
lower bottom. To avoid any delay, it was decided
to lift the basket with some catalyst remaining in
the 2nd bed.
Figure 9: Typical un-loading arrangement
To keep all rigging equipment within safe
capacities, the volume of catalyst was calculated
which could be left inside the 2nd bed during the
lift. A nitrogen blanket was provided during
rigging to avoid exposure of residual catalyst
with air.
Figure 10: Removal of S-200 Basket
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[319] AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
 Pressure Shell Inspection before S-300 basket
Installation
After removal of S-200 basket, 8 holes were
drilled in the pressure shell for installation of
new flexible pipes to accommodate new
synthesis gas flow distribution. Inspection of
pressure shell was carried out with following job
scope;
o Visual inspection of complete shell.
o Magnetic Particle Testing of all
circumferential, longitudinal and nozzle
welds
o Hardness testing in HAZ of the welds
o Hydrogen attack survey of bottom shell
up to man height
No abnormality was observed during pressure
shell inspection.
S-300 Installation and Catalyst Loading
The new S-300 basket was installed inside the
original pressure shell and loaded with HTAS
pre-reduced ammonia synthesis catalyst (KM1R)
using proprietary HTAS loading method.
Figure 11: Insertion of S-300 Basket
Centricity of basket in the shell is ensured by the
centering wedges installed on outer periphery of
basket top. To ensure verticality of basket in
pressure shell, lead bars were placed at basket
support ring installed at the bottom of pressure
shell. Cables attached to these lead bars were
accessible from bottom outlet pipe. The basket
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
2011
was inserted inside the pressure shell using
overhead crane and placed on its support ring.
When it was ensured that load has been released
from the crane, the basket was lifted again to the
elevation of 2000 mm. Lead bars were pulled out
from bottom outlet pipe and its thicknesses were
measured. The deviation in thicknesses of these
lead bars was found within acceptable limit.
Then the 3rd bed was ready for loading of
catalyst.
Catalyst Loading
Catalyst loading was performed in accordance
with Topsoe’s recommendation utilizing their
proposed method.
Pre reduced synthesis catalyst type was loaded in
all three beds. The quantity of catalyst loaded is
given in Table 3.
Bed No Catalyst, m3
1st [Upper] 6.3
2nd [Middle] 6.3
3rd [Bottom] 17.1
Table 3: Catalyst Details
Screening of the catalyst was done to remove
dust using two conveyer systems with vibrating
screens directly discharging into the loading
bins.
Four loading points were used simultaneously
taking suction from four way outlet nozzle of the
feeding hopper fixed on the top of the S-300
basket on a special fixture made exclusively for
this purpose by FFC maintenance team.
Figure 12: Loading Points (4 Nos.)
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[320] AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
 After catalyst loading and the closure of the 3rd Activation steps of the catalyst consisted of
bed, the 2nd bed was installed and loaded with mainly four steps as given in Table 4.
catalyst. The IHE was installed, followed by
installation and loading of 1st catalyst bed and Max Temp
final closure of the 1st bed and S-300 basket. Rate Pressure Time
Step
°C/hr kg/cm2 hrs
°C
The loading activity was fast and smooth with
satisfactory results of densities achieved
1 250 30 - 50 80 06
resulting in higher than anticipated catalyst 2 250 - 400 15 - 25 80 08
weight loaded in each bed of S-300. 3 400 - 500 10 - 20 80 - 150 12
4 Start-up heater - 150 04
is taken off
Commissioning Total duration (hrs) 30
Subsequent to completion of maintenance Table 4: Activation Steps
activities and other turnaround jobs, start-up of
the ammonia front-end was commenced on
October 27, 2009. After availability of synthesis The water produced during the activation of pre-
gas from front-end on October 29, 2009, reduced catalyst was disposed off in compliance
commissioning of the new S-300 basket and with the company environmental practices.
catalyst was carried out. The overall
commissioning activity, though longer than The advantage of using pre-reduced catalyst was
anticipated, was smooth. that it became active in an early stage resulting in
the following advantages:
• Early production of ammonia (much less
Converter Blowing / Catalyst Activation time required compared to oxidized
The very first step in the commissioning was to catalyst).
blow the small quantity of dust from newly • Ammonia synthesis reaction starts some
installed catalyst generated during the loading time before completion of the catalyst
activity. This was done at a loop pressure of 100 reduction. Consequently, latter part of
kg/cm2g (1422 psig) by opening of maximum reduction process was faster.
possible purge points / vents in the loop.
The activation of catalyst was continued from
After completion of the blowing activity, the October 29-31 (for 60 hours) and ammonia
new stabilized synthesis catalyst (supplied in production was aligned with storage when the
partially oxidized form) was activated by concentration of ammonia from separator
controlled heating of the catalyst with synthesis reached above 30%. The later part of 3rd bed
makeup gas containing hydrogen through the reduction was slow owing to completion of
help of startup heater and at pressure level of the reaction at the upper beds and it continued till the
synthesis loop. time when reactor outlet ammonia concentration
reached from 13% to around 16% in the
The oxygen fixed on the catalyst during its following two weeks.
stabilization is removed when the catalyst is
exposed to the hydrogen containing atmosphere The reduction activity was supervised by two
and heated-up. This process leads to complete Haldor Topsoe engineers along with FFC’s
reduction [or activation] of the catalyst. process engineers with closed monitoring of bed
temperatures and other plant parameters.

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Figure 13: Temperature profile showing the
reduction activity
Operational Experience
Operation of the new 3-bed basket and catalyst
was entirely satisfactory and the plant observed
1380 MeT per day ammonia production with
conversion efficiency of around 29% per pass,
thus surpassing the previous best records within
two weeks of the commissioning. Subsequent to
completion of another project for natural gas
(feed) compression, with availability of more
feedstock gas the plant load was increased to
around 116% of the revamped capacity (141% of
the original nameplate capacity). However,
limitations in the synthesis loop were observed
especially in the reactor hot spot temperatures
i.e. 1st bed outlet temperature approaching 540
°C (1004 °F) and also in the synthesis gas
compressor speed owing to higher synthesis loop
pressure of 260 kg/cm2g (3698 psig). This
limited the further increase in plant load despite
availability of natural gas.
Efforts were undertaken by FFC’s team to look
into options for S-300 converter optimization.
The focus was given to the bed temperature
profile adjustment with the help of a model
developed exclusively for 3-bed converter basket
using in-house simulation facilities.
First Optimization (November, 2009)
Ammonia plant operating data was input in the
detailed backend model developed for this
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
2011
purpose to observe the actual performance of the
converter and identify possible improvement
areas.
Comparison of simulation and actual plant data
was carried out, along-with plot of ammonia
concentration at each bed. Following
observations were made;
• Owing to higher inlet temperature of 415
°C (779 °F) and therefore higher rate of
reaction, the outlet ammonia concentration
from the first bed was higher causing the
lower two beds to run under-utilized.
• Similarly the 2nd bed and 3rd bed
temperatures were also running higher than
optimum causing the exothermic reaction
to shift on the negative side especially
when low inlet temperatures are more
favorable for a new active catalyst.
• The hydrogen to nitrogen ratio at converter
inlet needed further optimization to bring
down its value to 2.9-3.0 which is the most
optimum range for maximum theoretical
conversion.
Based on the above analysis, new conditions
were put into the S-300 model. The simulation
results revealed that these changes would bring
the reactor close to the most optimum operating
conditions. The expected improvements were
lower loop pressure, increased ammonia
production even with higher inert level (20%)
and lower purge rates.
These observations along with simulation results
were discussed with plant operation team for
review of practicality and actual test for the
reactor optimization was undertaken on
November 21, 2009 with frequent lab analysis
and data logging.
The reactor bed temperatures were decreased in
smaller steps and further steps were undertaken
subsequent to normalization of intermediate
conditions, which took about a week. Peak
performance of the S-300 converter basket was
achieved after completion of the intended
322 2011
[322] AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
 changes in the reactor temperature profile. A despite plant operation at higher load. This was
comparison of the pre-post optimization possible after extensive optimization carried out
operating conditions is given in the Table 5: by FFC team after completion of the catalyst
reduction activities. A record ammonia
The effect of optimization on the synthesis loop production of 1492 MT/day was achieved.
was evident as synthesis loop pressure started
decreasing immediately with increase in the
overall temperature rise across the S-300 Conclusion
converter. This in turn gave operations the
With concerted efforts, excellent planning and
flexibility to increase the speed of synthesis
preparations, the new S-300 basket project was
compressor with increasing throughput when
not only accomplished well before the scheduled
further margin became available.
time but also in-house optimization efforts
proved successful in realizing its excellent
Second Optimization (February, 2010) performance. The introduction of the new S-300
basket at the Ammonia-I plant proved very
A second attempt was made to optimize the S-
successful in overcoming backend limitation
300 converter in the month of February 2010 to
problems and resulted in boosting the ammonia
utilize favorable low cooling water temperatures.
production rates. The capacity factors are given
This time, the simulation included actual plant
below.
data on the backend model. The results indicated
a further margin of lowering bed temperatures
with improved conversion efficiency. The
optimization on actual plant operation was
undertaken with careful adjustment of bed
temperature profile i.e., lowering by 2-3 °C, inert
level in the loop and purge rates; details given in
Table 5. As a result, loop pressure further
decreased to around 253 kg/cm2 (3598 psi) while
conversion efficiency increased to 34% giving
further margin to improve plant throughput.

Before 1st 2nd

Description Optimization Optimization Optimization Figure 14: Ammonia-I capacity factor profile
Production rate, MTPD 1400 1478 1492
Recycle gas flow, Nmc/hr 641,000 642,400 634,400 After the successful implementation and
st o
1 bed temp ( C) Inlet / Outlet 415/540 391/526 393/526
commissioning of S-300 converter basket along
2nd bed temp (oC) Inlet / Outlet 495/515 488/516 461/497
with other modification including new tubes in
3rd bed temp (oC) Inlet / Outlet 436/477 433/476 406/448
2
the primary reformer, retrofit of the ammonia
Inlet pressure, kg/cm g 261 255.4 253.5
separator with vane type and replacement of the
Purge gas flow, Nmc/hr 8,400 8450 8931
synthesis gas cooler with SS re-tube bundle, the
Conversion per pass, % 30.04 33.26 34.28
result was an increase in ammonia production
Table 5: Operating parameters before and after
and energy improvement of ~5% [i.e. 8.40
optimization
Gcal/MT (30.2 MMBtu/sT) achieved compared
The operating performance of the ammonia to 8.85 Gcal/MT (31.9 MMBtu/sT) before
synthesis converter with new S-300 basket turnaround 2009].
exceeded the predictions regarding ammonia
production rate. Moreover other operational
parameters also remained as expected or better

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AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 324 2011