Ammonia plant having a start-up furnace and method for producing ammonia

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12269751-B2
Application number	US-202418597600-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 6, 2024
Priority date	Apr 16, 2018
Publication date	Apr 8, 2025
Grant date	Apr 8, 2025

Abstract

A method of producing ammonia includes heating, with a start-up oven, a first synthesis gas for a first ammonia synthesis in a first reactor; transferring the heated first synthesis gas to the first reactor for initiating a chemical reaction; heating, with the start-up oven, a second synthesis gas for a second ammonia synthesis in a second reactor; and transferring the heated second synthesis gas to the second reactor for initiating a chemical reaction, wherein a high-pressure synthesis of ammonia is carried out in the first reactor and a low-pressure synthesis of ammonia is carried out in the second reactor at a process pressure which is lower than the process pressure in the first reactor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of producing ammonia, comprising:
heating, with a start-up oven, a first synthesis gas for a first ammonia synthesis in a first reactor;
transferring the heated first synthesis gas to the first reactor for initiating a chemical reaction;
heating, with the start-up oven, a second synthesis gas for a second ammonia synthesis in a second reactor; and
transferring the heated second synthesis gas to the second reactor for initiating a chemical reaction, wherein a high-pressure synthesis of ammonia is carried out in the first reactor and a low-pressure synthesis of ammonia is carried out in the second reactor at a process pressure which is lower than the process pressure in the first reactor.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the start-up oven comprises a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger which are independent of one another, wherein the first synthesis gas has a higher partial pressure in the first heat exchanger and/or upon introduction into the first reactor than the second synthesis gas in the second heat exchanger and/or upon introduction into the second reactor.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the transfer of the first synthesis gas to the first reactor and the transfer of the second synthesis gas to the second reactor are carried out successively, wherein a transfer of the first synthesis gas through the first heat exchanger and into the first reactor is followed by a transfer of the second synthesis gas through the first heat exchanger and into the second reactor.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the transfer of the first and second synthesis gas is carried out simultaneously, wherein a transfer of the first synthesis gas through the first heat exchanger and into the first reactor is carried out and a proportion of the first synthesis gas is diverted into the second reactor after heating by the first heat exchanger.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the transfer is carried out simultaneously or successively, wherein the first synthesis gas is passed through the first heat exchanger and into the first reactor and the second synthesis gas is passed through the second heat exchanger and into the second reactor, wherein the first and second heat exchanger are arranged in the start-up oven.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the start-up oven comprises burners operated with the same gas also used as reformer gas for producing hydrogen for the ammonia synthesis and/or the start-up oven heats the first heat exchanger under atmospheric pressure.

Assignees

• Thyssenkrupp Uhde Gmbh
• Thyssenkrupp Ag

Inventors

• Schaaf Maximilian
• Meurer Dirk
• Nölker Klaus

Classifications

• C01C1/0482

  Process control; Start-up or cooling-down procedures · CPC title

• C01C1/0452 Primary

  Heat exchangers · CPC title

• C01C1/0447 Primary

  Apparatus other than synthesis reactors · CPC title