Process for ammonia production
OwnerRaffaele OSTUNI, Cristina FERRINI +1inventors
InventorsRaffaele OSTUNI, Cristina FERRINI, Javier GOICOCHEA
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Abstract
A process for the synthesis of ammonia from a make-up gas containing hydrogen and nitrogen, comprising at least two steps for the synthesis of ammonia, wherein: said reactive steps are performed in series and each of said reactive steps provides an ammonia-containing product gas; the second and any subsequent reactive step receives, as a feed stream, at least a portion of the product gas of the previous reactive step; an intermediate adsorptive step of ammonia is performed between consecutive reactive steps, so that the product gas of each step is depleted of ammonia prior to the subsequent reactive step of said series.
Claims20
1-16. (canceled)
A process for synthesis of ammonia from a make-up gas containing hydrogen and nitrogen, the process comprising:
- at least two reactive steps for the synthesis of ammonia, wherein:
- said at least two reactive steps are performed in series, and each of said at least two reactive steps provides an ammonia-containing product gas;
- the second and any subsequent one of the at least two reactive steps receives, as a feed stream, at least a portion of the ammonia-containing product gas of the previous one of the at least two reactive steps;
- an intermediate adsorptive step of ammonia is performed between consecutive ones of the at least two reactive steps, so that the ammonia-containing product gas of each of the at least two reactive steps is depleted of ammonia prior to the subsequent one of the at least two reactive steps of said series;
- wherein said at least two reactive steps are carried out in one or more catalyst beds, said one or more catalyst beds being arranged in a single reactor vessel or in different reactor vessels and each of said at least two reactive steps being carried out in a catalyst volume substantially equal to or greater than the catalyst volume of the subsequent one of the at least two reactive steps.
A plant for the synthesis of ammonia from a make-up gas containing hydrogen and nitrogen, the plant comprising:
- at least two units for the synthesis of ammonia, said at least two units being arranged in series and each of said at least two units containing one or more reactor vessels, wherein each of the one or more reactor vessels contains one or more catalyst beds, each of said at least two units having a catalyst volume substantially equal to or greater than the catalyst volume of the subsequent one of the at least two units;
- and
- at least one adsorption unit located between consecutive synthesis units, said at least one adsorption unit including at least two vessels arranged in series and each of the one or more reactor vessels containing a solid adsorbent suitable to selectively adsorb ammonia.
A method of revamping of an ammonia synthesis loop including at least a first synthesis unit and a second synthesis unit, arranged in series and containing one or more catalyst beds each, the method comprising:
- installing an adsorption unit between said first and second synthesis unit;
- and
- wherein the total catalyst volume of said first synthesis unit is substantially equal to or greater than the second synthesis unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.