Engro’s Experience with

Implementation of a S-300 Converter

During a Normal T/A
Engro Chemical Pakistan Ltd. (ECPL) implemented an energy conservation project in November
2002 to improve the specific energy consumption of its ammonia/urea complex by around 3%.
Several modifications were implemented at the ammonia and urea plants. A major chunk of this
efficiency improvement came from retrofit of the ammonia converter internals from a 2-bed radial
design to a state of the art 3-bed radial design. The paper will describe the features of the S-300
converter having 3 catalyst beds and two interbed heat exchangers. The advantages of the S-300, and
how it is possible to operate two interbed heat exchangers in series will be discussed.

Engro’s careful planning prior to the installation ensured a remarkably smooth and safe installation
of the basket and subsequent catalyst loading. The entire operation from opening of the pressure shell
to box-up was concluded in less than 15 days. This paper will describe how this was achieved.
Furthermore, the operating experience after start-up with this new basket will also be described.

Ahmad Shakoor
Engro Chemical Pakistan Ltd., Pakistan

Henrik Udesen
Haldor Topsøe A/S, Denmark

Introduction capacity was increased from 173 thousand tons to 268

thousand tons.
Introduction to Engro Chemical Pakistan Ltd. Although highly successful in Pakistan, Exxon did
not view fertilizers to be a part of its global business

T he company known today as Engro Chemical

Pakistan Ltd began as Esso Pakistan Fertil-
izer Company Limited, in 1965. This was a
few years after the discovery of a vast resource of natural
gas close to the small town of Daharki in the province of
Sind. Esso (the name later changed to Exxon) decided to
utilize the gas to manufacture a high nutrient fertilizer
called urea. In the subsequent years, the company contin-
ued to expand its plant capacity in small steps. In a pe-
riod of almost 20 years, the site annual urea production
strategy and decided to divest its equity. However, its
employees in Pakistan in collaboration with reputable in-
vestors envisaged a huge potential for growth and expan-
sion and decided to go for a buyout of Exxon’s equity. It
was a bold and challenging decision after which the
company was renamed as Engro Chemical Pakistan Lim-
ited. Immediately, the company started to chart out a new
course for itself. Growth was a key objective of the new
company, and efficient and cost effective expansion in

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 36 2003

manufacturing capacity was viewed as a clear priority. In
order to fulfil its desire to expand and become energy ef-
ficient, the company decided to relocate technologically
sound and economically viable ammonia /urea plants
from overseas. Subsequent to the successful relocation of
the plants, several debottlenecking steps were imple-
mented to increase the site urea capacity to 850 thousand
tons per annum. At the same time, the specific energy
consumption of the site was improved by around 18%.
The company continues its relentless pursuit to
keep up to speed with latest technological advance-
ments as they emerge. This paper will describe one
such success story.
Introduction to Haldor Topsøe A/S
Haldor Topsøe A/S is a privately owned Danish
company and has for more than 60 years offered catalyst
and technology to the fertilizer industry. When Topsøe
invented the radial flow ammonia converter in the
1960’ties, the first S-100 converter and later the S-200
became the benchmark for the future of ammonia con-
verter development. The synthesis of ammonia in the
ammonia converter has always been subject to develop-
ments and different variations in process and reactor de-
sign due to its importance for the plant performance. The
latest development is the S-300 ammonia converter as
implemented in Pakistan for the first time when Engro
decided to embark on the expansion project.
Project Background
As part of Engro’s effort to improve the plant spe-
cific energy consumption, an energy conservation pro-
ject named “ENCON” was conceived in 2000. The pro-
ject envisaged several modifications at its
ammonia/urea complex. The main modifications at the
ammonia plant were as follows:
1. Addition of boiler feed water preheat coil in
the primary reformer convection section
2. Retrofit of semi lean solution pumps with
higher throughput, better efficiency impellers
3. Replacement of methanator feed effluent ex-
changers with modified low pressure drop de-
sign (no tubes in window type)
4. Replacement of ammonia converter internals
from 2-bed design to 3-bed design
The above modifications not only increased the
plant efficiency; they also debottlenecked the ammonia
plant for the next capacity increase project of the site.
2003
The most significant contribution towards improv-
ing energy efficiency and alleviating capacity through-
put limitation came from the ammonia converter re-
vamp. A significant reduction in the synthesis loop
operating pressure was expected after the replacement
of the ammonia converter internals due to the 3-bed de-
sign. The synthesis gas compressor horse power and
steam consumption by its driver was expected to drop
considerably as a result. Moreover, a reduction in syn-
thesis loop recycle rate (due to higher conversion) re-
sulted in a lower duty on the synthesis gas chillers
thereby unloading the refrigeration compressor. All this
was achieved by modifications of the internals with no
other modification in the synthesis loop.
Description of the S-300 Basket
and Comparison with S-200
The Topsøe S-300 ammonia converter is a further
development of the Topsøe S-200 ammonia converter
that is still widely used in the industry, and has been so
for more than 25 years.
The S-300 converter basket as installed in Engro’s
ammonia plant in Daharki is shown in Figure 1.
The S-300 converter basket is installed in the exist-
ing pressure shell. The S-300 basket is divided into a
catalyst section which consists of three radial flow adia-
batic catalyst beds, and two Interbed Heat Exchangers
(IHE) in series located in the centre of the two upper
catalyst beds. At the bottom of the converter a feed/
effluent heat exchanger is located (Lower Heat Ex-
changer, LHE).
The converter feed flow is introduced through the ex-
isting inlets – the main gas inlet (A1+2) and the IHE gas
inlet (A3+4) at the top of the converter and the cold by-
pass inlet gas (A5) in the bottom of the converter. The
converted gas leaving the third catalyst bed goes to the
tube side of the LHE and leaves through the outlet nozzle
(B) at the bottom of the converter. By using the two
IHE’s in series it is not required to have additional inlets
or modifications to the pressure shell made and no modi-
fication of the outside piping is required. This is normally
the case when introducing an additional catalyst bed irre-
spective of the cooling type quench or indirect cooling.
Both cold by-pass gas and main gas are introduced
as before, but the IHE gas now passes two IHE’s on the
tube side. Finally gas from all three “routes” are mixed
at the top of the basket and introduced to the 1st cata-
lyst bed. All three catalyst beds are passed in an inward
radial flow direction.
37 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
 The total converter feed flow is converted in all
three catalyst beds, whereby a high conversion effi-
ciency is achieved. Furthermore the use of indirect
cooling by means of the IHE’s instead of quench pro-
vide a much more controllable/predictable catalyst bed
inlet temperature, as only the temperature is changed –
a so to speak “one dimensional” change, whereas
quench changes both temperature and gas composition
– a “two dimensional” change.
Figure 2 shows the achievable conversion obtained
by the following three different converter types:

• The Topsøe S-300 as installed in Engro

• A 3-bed converter with quench between 1st
and 2nd catalyst beds and one IHE between
2nd and 3rd catalyst beds, and
• The Topsøe S-200 as was installed before at
Engro

As can be seen the conversions achieved by the

three different converter types are rather close, however
the different efficiencies achieved with each converter
type is evident.
In a revamp situation the pressure shell size is fixed
and it is not feasible to consider modifications to the
pressure shell itself. Unless the space inside the pressure
shell has been less efficiently utilised, introducing an ad-
ditional catalyst bed will normally cause installation of
less catalyst volume. This is also the case f.inst. when
comparing the installed volume of a S-200 basket and a
S-300 converter basket. This is mainly due to the space
taken up by the larger IHE’s and that space is required
for guiding the gas flow as well as considerations to the
ease of mechanical assembly. Although a quench inlet
system does not take up the same space as the IHE,
thereby allowing installation of additional catalyst, the
conversion efficiency with the S-300 is still higher.
The reason for the higher conversion efficiency
when using the S-300 converter basket compared with
the other converter types is that a larger part of the con-
version in the catalyst bed is performed at a higher av-
erage reaction rate.
This situation is shown in Figure 3 where the
curve representing the maximum reaction rate at a
A1, 2 : Main gas inlet given ammonia concentration is presented. On each
A3, 4 : Inlet for gas to IHE’s tube side “side” of this maximum rate of reaction similar curves
A5 : Cold by-pass inlet representing f.inst. 90%, 80%, etc. reaction rate can be
B : Gas outlet drawn. The target then when designing the internals is
to have most of the conversion done in the “band”
with highest reaction rates.
Figure 1. Topsøe S-300 Converter.

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 38 2003

 20

18

Ammonia concentration, mole-%

16

14

12

10

Equlibrium
6
Three Bed Q + IHE
4
S-200

2 S-300

0
370 390 410 430 450 470 490 510 530 550

Catalyst temperature, deg. C

Figure 2. Temperature-Conversion Profile.

20

18

16
Ammonia Concentration, mole%

14

12

10

Equlibrium
4 S-300
S-200
75% reaction rate
2 75% reaction rate
Maximum reaction rate

0
370 390 410 430 450 470 490 510 530 550
Catalyst Temperature, deg. C
Figure 3. Temperature–Conversion Profile, Reaction Rate.

2003 39 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 For comparison reasons both conversion paths for
the S-200 and the S-300 is shown. As can be seen a lar-
ger part of the conversion with the S-300 is performed
at a higher reaction rate.
For new plants and with the increasing capacity it is
Topsøe’s recommendation to install a S-300 ammonia
converter because the additional bed will allow installa-
tion of a reduced amount of catalyst compared with the
S-200. Typically the catalyst volume is reduced approx.
15 – 20% assuming a fixed conversion across the con-
verter.
Mechanical Considerations
The prevailing operating conditions for the S-300
ammonia converter at Engro i.e. elevated temperature
and pressure combined with gas composition with high
contents of hydrogen and ammonia required careful
consideration to the mechanical design and choice of
construction materials.
The major part of the converter basket is made of
AISI 321 except of the first IHE cooling the effluent of
1st catalyst bed and the centre screens of the catalyst
beds. Due to the very high temperatures of the gas leav-
ing the 1st catalyst bed being in excess of 500˚C it is
required to make the tubes of Inconel 600. Similar the
outlet screen of all three catalyst beds is made of In-
conel 600.
The S-300 converter basket shell is fabricated as one
shell thereby achieving a simple installation and avoiding
any risk of bypass between converted and non-converted
gas. The design of the 1st catalyst bed (at the top) and the
3rd catalyst bed is similar to the design of the S-200 con-
verter. This is well proven and easy to handle during both
fabrication and later during installation at site. The sec-
ond catalyst bed (in the middle) is supported on a circum-
ferential support that is welded to the basket shell. A
sealing system is provided at the bottom of the bed, how-
ever the weight of the bed is not sufficient to ensure a
close sealing. Therefore a sealing system is provided in
the top of the 2nd bed similar to the design used for Top-
søe in-situ modifications.
In all three beds the gas distribution system is pro-
vided by the use of screens (See Figure 4) whereby the
use of wire mesh is avoided. The use of screens im-
proves the flow distribution in the bed and ensures a
much smoother surface towards catalyst, minimising
the friction between catalyst and basket.
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
Figure 4. Screens.
Planning the Turnaround
and Actual Experience
The converter revamp project had to undergo care-
ful planning because of the criticality and complexity
associated with it. Some of the attributes that made this
project unique from the others were:
• Critical path activity, thus driving the entire
turnaround duration
• Hazards of working under inert atmosphere due
to pyrophoric nature of the catalyst
• Extensive rigging involved throughout the
activity
• Specialized basket insertion/installation tech-
niques
• Management of N2 supply from outside source
All these factors led the project team to a very cau-
tious approach for the implementation of the project.
Extensive consultation was carried out with the basket
designer to devise the most appropriate strategy for safe
execution of the project. The experience of other sites
that had carried out similar jobs in the past was also
shared.
The entire work scope was divided into two cate-
gories:
1. Work inside the converter pressure shell
2. Work outside the converter pressure shell
The work inside the pressure shell involved re-
moval of the spent, highly pyrophoric catalyst, removal
of old S-200 basket, installation of the new S-300 bas-
ket and loading of catalyst. The work outside the pres-
sure shell involved extensive rigging, blinding and de-
40 2003
blinding activities. Both these jobs were contracted out
to two separate companies, specializing in their respec-
tive fields. The two contractor teams, basket designer
Topsøe, and the owner, Engro, spent considerable time
and energy to define each step of the implementation
explicitly. The boundary limits of the teams were
clearly defined and documented well in advance to
avoid any confusion. All this planning resulted in com-
pleting the task from opening up of the pressure shell to
final boxup in less than 15 days.
Although various specialized activities were carried
out during the Converter revamp project, the ones re-
lated specifically to the critical path activity are dis-
cussed below:
Shutdown and Preparation
1. Ammonia converter cool down
2. Purging of synthesis loop
3. Blinding of synthesis loop
Mechanical Works
4. Ammonia converter pressure shell top cover re-
moval
5. Preparation for catalyst removal
6. Removal of 1st bed catalyst
7. Removal of 1st catalyst bed
8. Preparation for 2nd bed catalyst removal
9. Removal of 2nd bed catalyst
10. Removal of bottom forging
11. Removal of S-200 basket
12. Pressure shell inspection
13. Lowering of S-300 basket in pressure shell
14. Removal of 1st catalyst bed, interbed heat ex-
changer and 2nd catalyst bed
15. Loading of catalyst in 3rd bed
16. Installation of 2nd catalyst bed
17. Loading of catalyst in 2nd bed
18. Installation of interbed heat exchanger assembly
19. Installation of 1st catalyst bed
20. Loading of catalyst in 1st bed
21. Swapping of quench and feed lines
22. Final inspection and box-up
Commissioning and Start-Up
23. Purging of synthesis loop
24. Catalyst activation
25. Normalization
The above steps are described in brief detail as fol-
lows and presented in a bar chart in Figure 5.
2003
1. Ammonia Converter Cooldown
The ammonia reaction in the converter was “killed”
by unoptimising the synthesis loop conditions. The cir-
culating synthesis gas resulted in an even cooldown of
the catalyst beds. The synthesis loop water coolers and
ammonia chillers were kept in operation to carry away
the heat out of the synthesis loop. The synthesis com-
pressor was tripped once the temperatures reached
around 120°F. The activity continued for 15 hours.
2. Purging of Synthesis Loop
The entire synthesis loop was purged with nitrogen
since various equipment had to be handed over for
maintenance/inspection activities. Around 450 thousand
standard cubic feet of nitrogen was consumed during
the activity. The synthesis loop was bottled in and
given about 10 cycles of pressurization and depressuri-
zation of upto 70 psi to ensure that the synthesis gas is
completely purged out. The purging of synthesis loop
was completed in 36 hours.
3. Blinding of Synthesis Loop
The synthesis loop was handed over to the contrac-
tors mechanical team for blinding. Opening up of the
heavy nuts and bolts after a period of around 10 years
remained quite challenging and the task was completed
in 34 hours.
4. Ammonia Converter Pressure
Shell Top Cover Removal
The loosening of the bolts of the converter top
cover was carried out while the blinding was taking
place. Once, the blinding was complete, the bolts were
removed and the top cover was lifted. The activity was
completed in 8 hours.
5. Preparation for Catalyst Removal
The preparations for catalyst removal included
opening up of the S-200 basket top cover, removal of
some of the thermocouples and set-up of the equipment
for catalyst evacuation. The equipment included the life
support system for the technicians working inside the
inert atmosphere as well as vacuum equipment and
hoses for removal of the catalyst. These preparations
were completed in 27 hours.
41 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
 Figure 5.

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 42 2003

6. Removal of 1st Bed Catalyst
The first catalyst bed of the S-200 converter con-
tained 450 cubic feet of catalyst. The catalyst was free
flowing initially but later on some lump formation was
encountered. A nitrogen-driven jackhammer had to be
used to break the catalyst lumps and enable the catalyst
to be vacuumed out. An average catalyst removal rate
of 25 cubic feet per hour was achieved with the total ac-
tivity completing in 18 hours.
7. Removal of 1st Catalyst Bed
After removal of the catalyst, the top catalyst bed
was unbolted and rigged out. This activity took 9 hours.
8. Preparations for 2nd Bed Catalyst Removal
The preparations for removal of the 2nd bed catalyst
included opening up of access ways to the 2nd catalyst
bed and installation of temporary thermocouples to moni-
tor the bed temperatures. This was a 3 hour activity.
9. Removal of 2nd Bed Catalyst
The second bed contained 1050 cubic feet of cata-
lyst. The second bed was relatively free flowing as
compared to the first bed. An average evacuation rate of
42 cubic feet per hour was realized. The activity took
25 hours.
10. Removal of Bottom Forging
The bottom forging of the ammonia converter had
to be lowered in order for the basket to be removed. It
took 15 hours to lower the bottom forging.
11. Removal of S-200 Basket
The removal of S-200 basket involved careful rig-
ging of the basket out of the shell. A 450 ton capacity
crane was dedicated for this job. A detail rigging plan
was devised for the activity. Preparations included in-
stallation of the lifting jig on the S-200 basket. The total
time consumed in the activity was 32 hours.
Main Features of the Crane and Load
• Working radius 46 feet
• Boom angle 81 degrees
• Boom length 250 feet
• Lifting capacity 95.7 tons
• Load to be lifted 64 tons
2003
12. Pressure Shell Inspection
The replacement of the converter basket presented an
opportunity to carryout inspection of the pressure shell.
The previous inspection had been carried out about 10
years ago. After carrying out extensive research and ex-
perience of other sites with similar retrofits, is was de-
cided to include the following in the inspection plan:
• Weephole inspection
• Visual inspection of internal surface
• UT thickness measurement
• Hardness checks on welds and base metal
• MT of longitudinal and circumferential welds
• Microstructure analysis by replica method
All the above activities were designed to be carried
out in parallel to whatever extent possible. The total in-
spection plan was accomplished in 24 hours.
13. Lowering of S-300 Basket in Pressure Shell
The S-300 basket in its container was placed along
the converter pressure shell well in advance. The activ-
ity of removal of the new basket from its container, and
insertion in the pressure shell took 36 hours.
Main Features of the Crane and Load
• Working radius 46 feet
• Boom angle 81 degrees
• Boom length 250 feet
• Lifting Capacity 95.7 tons
• Load to be lifted 66 tons
14. Removal of 1st Catalyst Bed, Interbed Heat
Exchanger and 2nd Catalyst Bed
The catalyst is first filled in the bottom bed. The top
bed, interbed heat exchanger and the second bed have
to be removed to make access to the bottom bed. These
activities were carried out in a period of 38 hours with
the following breakup:
• Top bed removal : 10 hours
• Removal of interbed heat exchanger : 8 hours
• Removal of 2nd bed : 20 hours
15. Loading of Catalyst in 3rd Catalyst Bed
The catalyst loading was carried out using dense
loading technique. Volume of the 3rd catalyst bed was
43 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
830 cubic feet. A filling density of 152 lbm per cubic before boxing up the converter. It took 6 hours to place
feet was achieved. The activity of loading the bed com- the top cover on the pressure shell. Another 12 hours
pleted in 44 hours. This time includes preparation of the were taken to complete the necessary thermocouple
catalyst loading activities as well. connections including testing and verification.

16. Installation of 2nd Catalyst Bed 23. Purging of Synthesis Loop

After boxup of the bottom bed, the 2nd catalyst bed
was installed in a period of 6 hours.
17. Loading of Catalyst in 2nd Catalyst Bed
Volume of second catalyst bed was 290 cubic feet.
The loading was accomplished in 23 hours. The filling
density achieved was again 152 lbm per cubic.
18. Installation of Interbed Heat
Exchanger Assembly
The interbed heat exchanger assembly was inserted
back into the basket. An activity completed in 10 hours.
19. Installation of 1st Catalyst Bed
The top catalyst bed was placed inside the basket as-
sembly. The time required for this activity was 8 hours.
20. Loading of Catalyst in 1st Catalyst Bed
The top catalyst bed had a volume of 286 cubic
feet. The loading density achieved in this bed was 149
lbm per cubic feet. The filling of catalyst in the first bed
was completed in 25 hours.
21. Swapping of Quench and Feed Lines
The S-300 requires swapping of the feed and
quench lines inside the pressure shell. This required ad-
justment and welding of flexible connections at the cor-
rect places. This activity was completed in 20 hours.
22. Final Inspection and Box-Up
After completion of all the mechanical activities in-
side the pressure shell, a final inspection was carried out
and Start-Up Preparation
De-blinding activity was started in parallel along
with installation of the top cover. The synthesis loop
was finally purged to rid of any oxygen and final prepa-
rations for start-up of the synthesis loop were carried
out. This activity consumed 12 hours.
24. Catalyst Activation
The catalyst chosen for the ammonia converter was
pre-reduced type. This selection was made because of
the following advantages:
• Lower activation time
• Less amount of ammonical water released dur-
ing start-up
• Less stabilization time required to achieve full
plant load
The catalyst activation step was completed in 26
hours.
25. Normalization
Within the next couple of days, the ammonia plant
was taken up to its full capacity of 1500 Metric tons per
day.
Experience with Operation of the
New S-300 Converter Basket
The start-up and stabilization of the ammonia con-
verter was an extremely smooth process. A brief com-
parison of some of the key operating parameters of the
ammonia plant synthesis loop before and after the im-
plementation are given in Table 1 below:

Table 1. Key Operating Parameters

%
S-200 S-300 Difference
Plant Production Rate (MTPD) 1540 1524 (1%)
Converter Feed Flow Rate (MSCFH) 28.782 25.329 (12%)
Converter Inlet Temperature (°F) 384 373
Converter Inlet Pressure (psig) 3178 2800 (12%)
Converter Inlet Ammonia Concentration (mole%) 2.85 2.97 4%
Converter Outlet Ammonia Concentration (mole%) 15.50 17.50 13%

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 44 2003

 The slightly lower production rate for S-300 com-
pared with the old S-200 was due to lower availability
of make-up gas when the data was collected.
The specific energy credits realized as a result of
this retrofit were as follows:
MMBtu/
MTPD NH3
Synthesis gas compression energy 0.38
Refrigeration compressor energy 0.03
Total saving 0.42
Conclusion
Replacement of the ammonia converter internals
from S-200 to S-300 resulted in a significant saving in
2003
synthesis gas compressor bhp. Lower recycle rate re-
sulted in less duty on ammonia chillers and subse-
quently a lower load on the refrigeration compressor.
All this has been achieved without any other modifica-
tion in the synthesis loop. The new S-300 converter has
also debottlenecked the ammonia plant backend for the
next capacity increase project of Engro.
Due to the careful and thorough planning the com-
plete unloading of catalyst and removal of the old bas-
ket, inspection of the pressure shell, installation of the
new S-300 including catalyst loading and start-up was
concluded in about two weeks time.
45 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL