Ammonia Synthesis Loop Cooling Without Product Ammonia Refrigerant
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ammonia synthesis systems incur high costs and operating inefficiencies due to the large power requirements for compressing and cooling product ammonia used as a chiller refrigerant, necessitating a method to reduce refrigerant manufacturing costs and improve operating efficiency without relying on product ammonia as a chiller refrigerant.
Innovation Solution
An ammonia synthesis system employing a ruthenium catalyst in an ammonia synthesis column, combined with a water-cooled or air-cooled cooler and ammonia separator, which recirculates a raw material gas with an ammonia concentration of 5 mol % or more, eliminating the need for product ammonia as a chiller refrigerant and optimizing cooling temperatures between 30 to 50°C.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If product ammonia is used as a chiller refrigerant, then cooling function is achieved, but power consumption and equipment scale increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful dependency on product ammonia as refrigerant by introducing an independent cooling system using water or air as cooling media. The cooler is disposed in the discharge line to cool synthetic gas directly, eliminating the need to use product ammonia in the compression-cooling-circulation cycle, thus resolving the contradiction between achieving cooling function and reducing power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces water or air as an intermediary cooling medium instead of using product ammonia directly. The water-cooled or air-cooled cooler acts as an intermediary device that transfers heat from the synthetic gas to the cooling medium, avoiding the high energy consumption associated with compressing and cooling product ammonia while maintaining effective cooling function
2Temperature
If product ammonia is used as a chiller refrigerant, then cooling function is achieved, but large-scale equipment is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex compression-cooling-circulation equipment required for product ammonia refrigeration by extracting this function and replacing it with a simpler water-cooled or air-cooled cooler disposed in the discharge line, thereby achieving the same cooling effect with significantly reduced equipment scale
Solution Approach 2:
By using water or air as intermediary cooling media, the patent eliminates the need for large-scale ammonia compression and cooling equipment. The water-cooled or air-cooled cooler provides a compact alternative that achieves effective cooling without requiring the extensive equipment infrastructure needed for product ammonia refrigeration cycles
3Productivity
If ammonia concentration in return raw material gas is increased, then synthesis efficiency improves, but catalyst performance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the ammonia concentration parameter in the return raw material gas to be 5 mol% or more, which improves synthesis efficiency by reducing the circulation amount needed. This parameter change works in conjunction with using a ruthenium catalyst that maintains high activity and reliability even at elevated ammonia concentrations, thus resolving the contradiction between improved productivity and catalyst performance requirements
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the operating efficiency of ammonia synthesis while reducing refrigerant manufacturing costs by maintaining high ammonia synthesis rates with reduced catalyst requirements and lower equipment needs, as demonstrated by the use of a ruthenium catalyst and controlled cooling temperatures.
Implementation Method 1
an ammonia synthesis catalyst that synthesizes the ammonia gas in the ammonia synthesis column is a ruthenium catalyst
Implementation Method 2
a water-cooled or air-cooled cooler that water-cools or air-cools the synthetic gas
Implementation Method 3
an ammonia separator to which the discharge line is connected, into which the synthetic gas after cooling is introduced, and which separates the ammonia gas and a liquid ammonia from each other
Implementation Method 4
a compressor that compresses the return raw material gas, disposed in the raw material return line
Data Source
AI summary
Included are an ammonia synthesis column that synthesizes ammonia from a raw material gas, a discharge line that discharges a synthetic gas, a water-cooled cooler that cools the synthetic gas with a coolant, disposed in the discharge line, an ammonia separator into which a synthetic gas after cooling is introduced and which separates the ammonia gas and a liquid ammonia from each other, a raw material return line that returns a raw material gas containing the separated ammonia gas to the ammonia synthesis column side as a return raw material gas, and a compressor that compresses the return raw material gas, disposed in the raw material return line. An ammonia concentration in the return raw material gas is 5 mol % or more, and an ammonia synthesis catalyst that synthesizes the ammonia gas in the ammonia synthesis column is a ruthenium catalyst.