Successful Installation and Startup of

an S-300 Ammonia Converter Basket

This paper reviews the history of operation, project planning and execution, safety, and successful
startup of an S-300 ammonia converter.

W. Clark Liddon
CF Industries

Brian G. Copeland
CF Industries

Bent J. Dahlstrom
Haldor Topsoe, Inc.

products. The company formed in 1946 as a

fertilizer cooperative and went public in 2005.
Introduction The company has manufacturing complexes in
the United States, Canada, the Republic of Trin-

A
fter 26 years of successful operation of
a Haldor Topsoe S-200 (2-bed radial idad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.
flow) ammonia converter, CF Indus-
tries’ Yazoo City Plant decided to up- The Yazoo City Nitrogen complex in Mississip-
grade its internals with a new S-300 (3-bed radi- pi became part of CF Industries in 2010. The
al flow) converter basket. The converter retrofit site was developed in the late 1940’s to produce
project is exceeding expectations. nitrogen based fertilizers for the lower Missis-
sippi River valley deltas of Arkansas, Louisiana,
The planning and execution for this once every and Mississippi. In 1965, the site commissioned
20 to 30 year project is a challenge and the level the world’s first 1,000 STPD (907 MTPD) sin-
of associated safety is significant. The turna- gle train ammonia plant
round implemented several other major projects
as part of a historic outage. Haldor Topsoe is a privately owned company
located in Lyngby, Denmark with a wholly
owned subsidiary, Haldor Topsoe, Inc., in Hou-
Background ston, Texas. The company was founded in 1940
by Dr. Haldor Topsoe and has since then pro-
CF Industries is one of the world’s largest man- vided catalyst and technology to the fertilizer
ufacturers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer industry.

2013 121 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 Project Development catalyst at a lower cost than option 3 described
below. Since 1986, there had been technology
A Haldor Topsoe S-200 ammonia converter was improvements in mechanical and kinetic design.
installed in the Yazoo City No. 3 ammonia plant While this option did provide an opportunity for
in 1986, replacing the original converter. The inspection, replacement of the basket, and re-
converter was originally designed to produce placement of the catalyst, it did not take into ac-
1,240 STPD (1,125 MTPD) with future produc- count gains of an improved 3-bed design.
tion of 1,400 STPD (1,270 MTPD) ammonia.
With other improvements and upgrades since The third option was to replace the S-200 (2-bed
installation of the converter, the plant expanded design) with a 3-bed design. Two world class
production in excess of 1,650 STPD converter technology providers proposed 3-bed
(1,497 MTPD) ammonia. The converter had adiabatic designs. Each design would be a
performed very well for the last 26 years, sur- complete replacement of the basket and catalyst.
passing original expectations, with no internal Isothermal converter technology was considered
maintenance or catalyst change. as well. This latest design technology did not
have many installations with long proven indus-
Following the 2009 turnaround, a plan was put trial operating experience. After conversations
in place to evaluate the 1986 ammonia convert- with both technology providers, it was decided
er. The converter internals and catalyst were to solicit final proposals for the 3-bed adiabatic
being considered for replacement in the 2012 design only.
turnaround.
The process basis for this project is provided in
Project Options Table 1.
Three project options were considered. Key Operating Parameters Value Units
1. The first option was to do nothing and oper- Production Rate 1,620 STPD
ate the existing converter, internals, and cat- 1,470 MTPD
Converter Feed 70,150 lbmol/hr
alyst until the 2015 turnaround. 31,820 kmol/hr
2. The second option was to replace the basket Converter Pressure 2,080 psig
and catalyst with an improved S-200 (2-bed 14,341 kPag
radial flow) design. Converter Inlet Temp 330 °F
165.6 °C
3. The third option was to replace the S-200 Conv Diff Pressure 40 psi
design with a new 3-bed design. 276 kPa
Inlet NH3 Concentration 2.53 mole %
Outlet NH3 Concentration 15.60 mole %
The first option was to make no changes and
operate the existing converter for 29 years until Table 1. Process basis
the 2015 turnaround. From a mechanical integ-
rity standpoint, there were concerns of the life The two proposals were evaluated based on pa-
of the internal basket due to metal nitriding (2). rameters such as overall technology, energy sav-
Since no inspection had been done during the 26 ings, complexity of layout, ease of operability,
years of operation, there was a desire to inspect proven experience, and overall project cost. A
the pressure shell as well. This option did not total installed cost was developed for both tech-
address mechanical inspection, lower catalyst nology providers and the cost was very competi-
activity, and the risk of unexpected production tive.
loss.
The Haldor Topsoe S-300 ammonia converter
The second option was to replace the existing proposal was chosen. The Haldor Topsoe bas-
basket with an upgraded S-200 design and new ket appeared to be a simpler design. No addi-

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 122 2013

 tional modifications were necessary to external in the center of the two upper catalyst beds. A
piping. The difference in project costs from a feed/effluent heat exchanger (lower heat
technical and commercial standpoint was not exchanger, LHE) is located at the bottom of the
significant. The most compelling reason was converter.
the confidence in past operating experience with
the Haldor Topsoe S-200 converter and the Hal- The converter feed flow is introduced through
dor Topsoe KM1R/KM1 catalyst. The S-300 the existing inlets – the main gas inlet (A1+2)
design with the KM1R/KM1 ammonia synthesis and the IHE gas inlet (A3+4) at the top of the
catalyst has wide ammonia industry acceptance converter, and the cold by-pass inlet gas (A5) at
with a long proven operating experience. the bottom of the converter.

The expected energy savings were

0.26 MMBTU/ST (0.30 GJ/MT) for the new
basket at start-of-run relative to the S-200 bas-
ket at end-of-run.

The converter process performance guarantees

were:
 Production rate of 1,620 STPD
(1,470 MTPD)
 NH3 outlet concentration of 16.7 mole %
 Pressure drop less than 55 psi (379 kPa)

The total project cost was estimated to be

US $9,500,000.

In October 2010, an authorization for expendi-

ture was approved to install a new S-300 con-
verter basket and catalyst during the 2012 turna-
round. A supply contract with Haldor Topsoe
was executed in December 2010.

Haldor Topsoe S-300 Design

The Haldor Topsoe S-300 ammonia converter is
a further development of the Haldor Topsoe
S-200 ammonia converter that is widely used in
industry and has been for more than 35 years.
The S-300 converter basket, as installed in CF's
ammonia plant in Yazoo City, is shown in the
sketch (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. S-300 converter
The S-300 converter basket was installed in the
existing pressure shell. The S-300 basket is Feed gas from all three paths is mixed in the top
divided into a catalyst section which consists of of the basket before it is introduced to the first
three radial flow adiabatic catalyst beds and two catalyst bed via vertical gas panels along the
interbed heat exchangers (IHE) in series located outer wall of the catalyst bed. Here, it passes

2013 123 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 through the catalyst in an inward radial flow di- tion process. Haldor Topsoe made several visits
rection (i.e., from the outer wall to the center) to witness critical hold points as part of the
where it is collected in an annulus around the quality assurance process during manufacturing.
center tube. From there, the gas flows to the A second visit was made by CF Industries in
IHE where it is cooled in the upper part of the December 2011 to witness critical basket di-
IHE to the desired inlet temperature for the sec- mension checks, exchanger testing, and general
ond catalyst bed. Also in this bed, the gas pass- inspection prior to assembly. The basket was
es through the catalyst in an inward radial flow assembled in the shipping container and ready
direction via gas panels along the outer wall. for shipment in January 2012.
The gas is then cooled in the lower part of the
IHE to the optimum inlet temperature for the Haldor Topsoe coordinated the transportation
third catalyst bed. The third bed catalyst is also from the shop to port and arranged the ocean
traversed in an inward radial flow direction transportation to the port of New Orleans. The
from the gas panels to the center annulus. basket was loaded into a ship at the port of Ven-
ice on February 10, 2012. The basket arrived in
The converted gas leaving the third catalyst bed the port of New Orleans on March 19.
is introduced to the tube side of the lower heat
exchanger and leaves through the outlet nozzle Turner Industries was awarded the contract for
(B) at the bottom of the converter. By using the the basket transportation from New Orleans to
two IHE's in series, additional inlets are not re- the Yazoo City, Mississippi, site, and subse-
quired and no modification of the outside piping quent erection. The basket traveled over land
is required. and arrived on site April 6, 2012 (see Figure 2).
A foundation was prepared next to the existing
The total converter feed flow is reacted in all converter prior to the arrival of the basket. The
three catalyst beds, resulting in a high conver- new basket in its shipping container was erected
sion efficiency. Furthermore, the use of indirect and set in place on April 26. The turnaround
cooling by means of the IHE's, instead of was scheduled to begin on October 1, 2012.
quench, provides a much more controllable and
predictable catalyst bed inlet temperature (only
the temperature is changed versus temperature
and composition with quench).

Project Execution

Basket Manufacture
The S-300 basket was schedule to be shipped
from the manufacturer’s shop 14 months from
the date of contract execution. The detailed en-
gineering began immediately from Haldor Top-
soe headquarters in Lyngby, Denmark. Figure 2. Transport of basket to site
E. Zanon in Schio, Italy was awarded the basket
fabrication. The shop began ordering materials Pre-Turnaround Activities
in February 2011.
Several mechanical contractors were inter-
An initial shop visit by CF Industries and Hal- viewed for the installation of the new S-300
dor Topsoe in May 2011 kicked off the fabrica- basket. The scope of work included all rigging

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 124 2013

 and cranes, catalyst handling services, basket  The original S-200 lifting rig was resurrect-
removal and installation, bolt torqueing, and ed, sand blasted, and inspected in prepara-
machining. Turnaround Welding Services tion of the old basket removal.
(TWS) was awarded the contract. TWS subcon-  A new thermocouple platform was fabricat-
tracted with Deep South for Rigging and ed to access the modified thermocouple ar-
Cranes, Clean Harbors for catalyst services and rangement on the top head.
Team Industrial for bolt torqueing and machin-  More than 1,000 drums (250 pallets) of con-
ing. verter catalyst were received in September
2012 and stored.
Horsey Industrial was contracted as a consultant  The 450-ton main lift crane was erected in
to CF Industries to provide planning and instal- the week prior to shutdown.
lation services. Beginning 12 months prior to
the turnaround, multiple meetings were orga- Two additional projects were added to the gen-
nized with all parties involved including Haldor eral contractor’s scope as part of the turnaround.
Topsoe, Horsey Industrial, and the nitrogen con- Three sections of converter inlet and outlet pip-
tractor. These meetings proved very valuable as ing were upgraded to a larger size. The con-
plans were developed and tasks were assigned verter exit boiler feed water heater (123-C) was
to open items. More than 230 tasks were identi- disassembled for internal cleaning, inspection,
fied as part of a 29-day mechanically complete and repairs.
schedule. A 6-day startup and catalyst reduction
plan was incorporated following mechanical Haldor Topsoe supplied the ammonia converter
completion. catalyst as part of the supply agreement. The
catalyst was placed on order in December 2010.
Several significant tasks were completed prior Prereduced catalyst was ordered for the first bed
to turnaround in preparation for the basket re- and unreduced catalyst for the second and third
placement. beds.
 As mentioned earlier, a foundation with an-
choring studs was erected for the basket Shutdown and Turnaround Activities
shipping container next to the existing con-
verter. The ammonia plant began to shut down at
 A temporary working platform was fabricat- 7:00 am on Friday, September 28, in preparation
ed and installed around the new basket ship- to begin maintenance and construction activities
ping container for access. on Monday, October 1.
 A removable converter top cover was de-
signed with input from the catalyst handler. A special procedure was developed for cooling
This cover provided personnel access, re- the ammonia converter. The ammonia convert-
duced oxygen inclusion, and offered protec- er quench valve was opened to stop the conver-
tion from inclement weather. sion reaction. The syngas compressor continued
 Temporary nitrogen spool piece piping was to circulate to cool the converter. The cooling
fabricated in preparation of the nitrogen in- tower and the refrigeration compressor re-
erting and converter cooling process. mained in operation. Approximately one hour
 New 5-inch and 3¾-inch studs and nuts into the cooling process a flow through the start-
were ordered for the top head and bottom up heater coil was established to aid in the cool-
heads along with new D ring and omega seal ing process. Boiler feed water was diverted
ring gaskets for both heads. away from 123-C to reduce the feed gas temper-
ature. Eight hours into the cooling process the
converter exit temperature and the second bed

2013 125 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 exit temperature were approximately 165 °F were buffed for inspection. All weld seams
(74 °C). The syngas compressor was shut were wet magnetic particle tested. The outlet
down. The rest of the evening and night the nozzle was shear wave tested for integrity. No
converter was pressurized with nitrogen and de- repairs were required; only minor buffing of iso-
pressurized to clear the converter of combusti- lated areas was needed. The scaffolding was
bles. removed. The setup and inspection process took
74 hours to complete.
The next morning the syngas compressor dis-
charge and recycle lines were blinded. The ni- Haldor Topsoe provided technical service for
trogen services contractor (Pipe Freezing Ser- the installation and assembly of the new S-300
vices) set up and began the final cooling basket and catalyst loading.
process. A nitrogen flow rate of 80,000-
120,000 SCFH (2,140-3,215 Nm3/hr) was estab- The new S-300 basket was set in the converter
lished. The nitrogen supply temperature began shell (see Figure 3).
at 80 °F (27 °C) and was reduced during the
next 24 hours to 35 °F (2 °C). It took 48 hours
and 5,700,000 SCF (153,000 Nm3) of nitrogen
to cool the converter to 90 °F (32 °C).

It took several days to dismantle the converter to

get to the point of catalyst removal. When the
first catalyst was removed, the lower explosive
limit (LEL) was exceeded (12-40%). It was de-
cided to reinstall the converter top head and do
more nitrogen pressure dumps. The converter
was pressured up to 50 psig (345 kPag), held for
30 minutes, and released six times. This re-
quired an additional 30 hours to complete.

New thermocouple locations were required in

the top head as part of the modification. The
converter top, which is 20 inches (0.51 m) thick
and weighed 80,000 lb (36,300 kg), was set to
grade near the base of the converter where the Figure 3. S-300 basket installation
machining contractor completed the machining
process. The new basket was shimmed to center the bas-
ket in the shell. The first catalyst bed was re-
The top bed catalyst unloading (932 cubic feet, moved, the interbed heat exchanger was taken
26.4 m3) took 48 hours to complete and con- out, and the second catalyst bed was removed in
sumed 2,500,000 SCF (67,000 Nm3) of nitro- preparation for catalyst loading of the third bed.
gen. The second bed catalyst unloading
(2,536 cubic feet, 71.8 m3) took 126 hours to A mechanical vibrating screener was used to
complete and consumed 7,000,000 SCF screen the catalyst. The screen size was 1 mm
(187,500 Nm3) of nitrogen. square opening. The catalyst was loaded into
super sacks and kept in a dry location during
The old basket was removed, scaffolding was staging.
installed inside the shell, and all weld seams

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 126 2013

 The catalyst was installed using the "Shower- prereduced catalyst (no water, no direct sun-
head Loading" method. This loading method light, etc.).
was developed by Haldor Topsoe and applied
industrially beginning in 2002. Since then, well The catalyst densities obtained were very satis-
over 50 ammonia converters have been success- factory and were as follows:
fully loaded using the showerhead method. Bed 1: 143.6 lb/ft3 (2,300 kg/m3) of KM1R,
1.5-3 mm, prereduced catalyst
The method works as follows: Bed 2: 184.4 lb/ft3 (2,954 kg/m3) of KM1,
 After screening, the catalyst is charged into 1.5-3 mm, unreduced catalyst
a hopper. Bed 3: 188.4 lb/ft3 (3,018 kg/m3) of KM1,
 The hopper is lifted to the top of the con- 1.5-3 mm, unreduced catalyst
verter, and the catalyst is charged into a
loading box. The catalyst loading process and basket assem-
 From here, it flows to four hoses connected bly process took eight days to complete.
to the loading box via a manifold, and with a
showerhead mounted at the other end of The converter was mechanically complete in
each hose. 33 days, 4 days over the planned 29-day sched-
 The showerheads are fixed to a ring of ap- ule. The delays were due to inclement weather,
propriate size, whereby all showerheads will nitrogen delivery, additional time to clear the
be moved simultaneously at the same rota- high combustibles, and the longer than planned
tional speed and distance from basket walls mechanical inspection process.
(see Figure 4).
 Two persons turn the ring assembly back The converter and loop piping was first checked
and forth while the catalyst is being dis- with 50 psig (345 kPag) nitrogen as a prelimi-
charged through the showerheads. nary service test. All flanges and gaskets were
checked for tightness and security. The loop
was inerted with nitrogen several times and tak-
en to 500 psig (3,450 kPag) for a service test
prior to introduction of process gas.

Other Turnaround Projects

Listed below are several significant projects
completed as part of the historic turnaround:
1. Upgraded the size of the piping inlet and
outlet of the ammonia converter to reduce
pressure drop.
2. Upgraded the refrigeration compressor
Figure 4. Catalyst loading steam turbine (105-J) with larger thrust bear-
ing and diaphragms for increased ring pres-
Due to the dense packing obtained by this meth- sure.
od, no vibration is normally necessary. 3. Replaced inlet air filter housing and air mix-
ing nozzle for the air compressor (101-J).
The procedure is basically the same for unre- 4. Replaced the primary reformer tubes, risers,
duced and prereduced catalysts except for a few transfer line and associated refractory.
extra precautions to be taken when dealing with 5. Replaced mixed feed, air pre-heat, and hot
steam superheat coil in convection section.

2013 127 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 6. Demolished and replaced the cooling water Reduction Periods
tower.
7. Installed new auxiliary boiler burners and The converter start-up and catalyst reduction
upgraded burner management system. process is divided into 4 periods.
8. Installed redundant inlet methanator trip
valves. Period 1 – In this period, the prereduced catalyst
in the first bed is heated to 480 °F (249 °C)
where it begins to reduce. The rate of tempera-
Project Startup ture rise is 90 °F/hr (50 °C/hr) initially, gradual-
ly decreasing to 45 °F/hr (25 °C/hr). The pres-
Catalyst Reduction and Activation sure is maintained at 1,200 psig (8,300 kPag) to
1,500 psig (10,300 kPag).
The catalyst activation consists of reducing the
iron oxide catalyst to elemental iron. To ac- Period 2 – During this period, the first bed tem-
complish the reduction requires heat and a re- perature is raised from 480 °F (249 °C) to
ducing agent (in this case, H2 in the syngas is 750 °F (399 °C), where the catalyst starts to
the reducing agent). The heat is supplied by cir- give off water. The rate of temperature rise is
culating synthesis gas heated by the external 45 °F/hr (25 °C/hr), gradually decreasing to
start-up heater. 25 °F/hr (14 °C/hr).
The water formed during the reduction amounts Period 3 – In this period, the second and third
to 20 lb per 1,000 lb (20 kg per 1,000 kg) catalyst beds are reduced. The first bed is main-
prereduced catalyst and 280 lb per 1,000 lb (280 tained at about 750 °F (399 °C) at the inlet and
kg per 1,000 kg) unreduced catalyst. A major 900 °F (482 °C) at the outlet, while the second
part of the water is collected in the form of and third bed temperatures are allowed to in-
aqueous ammonia. crease to 770 °F (410 °C) at the inlet and 860 °F
(460 °C) and 800 °F (427 °C) respectively, at
A table showing the estimated ammonia and the outlet. The pressure is increased to
water production rates over the first 8 days of 1,700 psig (11,700 kPag). The water vapor exit
the reduction process is presented in Table 2. concentration should not exceed 3,000 ppmv.
Start-up NH3 H2O
Reduction Production Production Product Period 4 – At the beginning of this period, the
Time Rate, STPD Rate, STPD Strength catalyst has gained sufficient activity and tem-
(days) (MTPD) (MTPD) (% NH3) perature to slowly take the start-up heater out of
0.5 0.04 (0.04) 1 (0.9) 3.8
0.75 0.8 (0.08) 2 (1.8) 28.6
service. The shutdown of the start-up heater is
1 120 (109) 20 (18) 85.7 done over a 4-hour period. At this point, cata-
1.5 260 (235) 16 (15) 94.2 lyst activity has not reached maximum value,
2 480 (435) 30 (29) 94.1 but it is sufficient to maintain the reaction with-
3 730 (662) 15 (14) 98.0
4 1,300 (1,179) 12 (11) 99.1 out external heat input. Complete reduction will
5 1,620 (1,470) 10 (9) 99.4 be achieved after several days of operation.
6 1,620 (1,470) 3 (2.7) 99.8
7 1,620 (1,470) 1 (0.9) 99.9
8 1,620 (1,470) 0 (0.0) 100.0
The length of time for each period is dependent
Table 2. Ammonia and water rate during start- on catalyst type and volume as well as the heat
up and reduction input from the startup heater.

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 128 2013

 Converter Startup S-200 S-300
Case 1 Case 2
Sept 5, 2012 Jan 9, 2013
Haldor Topsoe engineers provided around the NH3 Production Rate STPD 1,458 1,713
clock coverage for the catalyst reduction. MTPD 1,323 1,554
Converter Feed Flow SCFH 25,087,000 25,845,000
Nm3/hr 672,110 692,418
The start-up heater was lit at 5:00 pm on No- Converter Inlet Temp. °F 325 301
vember 19, 2012 to start the converter warm-up °C 163 149
Converter Outlet Temp. °F 655 678
process. It took approximately 24 hours to raise °C 346 359
the first bed inlet temperature to 480 °F Converter Inlet Pressure psig 1,890 1,928
kPag 13,030 13,290
(249 °C). It took an additional 48 hours to raise Converter Outlet Pressure psig 1,860 1,885
the first bed inlet temperature to 750 °F kPag 12,820 12,990
(399 °C). The heat-up time was prolonged due Converter Inlet NH3 mole %
2.53 2.48
Conc.
to operational inconsistency requiring mainte- Converter Outlet NH3 mole %
14.93 16.86
nance support. The converter pressure was Conc.

maintained at 1,500 psig (10,300 kPag). Table 3. Performance comparison

The primary ammonia separator (106-F) first After the new S-300 converter had stabilized, a
produced aqua product 36 hours into the pro- set of operating data was collected on January 9,
cess. The product strength was 5% ammonia. 2013. Based on this data set, the converter per-
Nine hours later, product strength was greater formance was evaluated and found to exceed the
than 50% aqua ammonia. The outlet water va- expectations. The key parameters from this
por concentration in the converter exit gas was evaluation are also included in Table 3 (Case 2).
1,000-2,500 ppmv water.
The performance of the new S-300 converter at
The first product from the plant with high water start of run is compared to the S-200 converter
content was diverted to the 40 °F (14 °C) prod- at end of run in Figure 5. It is evident that the
uct line to intermediate storage (spheres). It was S-300 converter exhibits a much higher effi-
consumed in the nitric acid, ammonium nitrate ciency. This efficiency is mainly due to the 3-
and urea processes. When the primary ammonia bed design, which allows a larger part of the
separator strength reached 70%, the product dis- conversion to take place at a higher average re-
charge was set up for normal operation. action rate (higher temperature). Of course, the
new catalyst adds to the efficiency.

Converter Performance Bed 1

CF Industries Nitrogen, LLC ‐ Yazoo City, MS
Temperature ‐ Convertion for S‐300 vs. S‐200
20

The performance of the S-200 converter was 18

Equilibrium Curves

evaluated at its end-of-run based on operating 16

data collected on September 5, 2012. Its per- 14

formance was found to be satisfactory with no 12

NH3 Concentration,  %

10

mechanical deficiencies and a catalyst activity 8

of more than 50% higher than the expected ac- 6

tivity for 26-year-old KM1R/KM1 catalyst, thus 4

showing extremely high thermal stability. The 2

key parameters are included in Table 3 below 0

650 700 750 800 850 900 950
Catalyst Temperature, °F

(Case 1). S-300 Curve, Beds 1, 2 and 3 S-200 Curve, Beds 1 and 2

Figure 5. Temperature conversion graph

2013 129 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

 An energy evaluation was completed by Parrish vided. Safety planning and performance
Process Services to define the improvement in was emphasized during all parts of the plan-
energy efficiency from the S-200 end of run to ning and execution process.
the S-300 start of run data. The ammonia con- 2. The time spent with all parties involved
verter performance comparison was “normal- planning the huge number of tasks, months
ized” in the model by keeping the same feed gas prior to the turnaround, proved to be very
rate, steam to gas ratio, inerts in the synthesis valuable for an orderly execution of the pro-
loop, and ambient conditions. The two things ject.
that were changed in the model were the catalyst 3. Horsey Industrial was hired as a third-party
bed configuration and activities, as well as the consultant to CF Industries. They provided
higher loop pressure due to the lower catalyst much insight and had firsthand knowledge
activity. Several key parameters are presented into project planning, removal of the old
in Table 4 below. basket, and the mechanical completion of
the converter.
Case 3 Case $ 4. The nitrogen pressuring and depressuring to
Parameter S-200 S-300
(EOR) (SOR) remove combustibles tied up in the pores of
Make-up Gas SCFH 1,492,000 1,492,000 the converter catalyst should not be underes-
Nm3/hr 39,972 39,972
Pressure psig 2,060 1,940 timated. This inerting process was not done
kPag 14,200 13,375 diligently enough during the cooling process
Inerts mole % 12.9 12.9
NH3 Feed mole % 2.22 2.24
and had to be repeated, which cost valuable
NH3 Outlet mole % 14.85 16.46 time and money.
Conv Feed SCFH 28,337,000 25,538,000 5. The project took in excess of 15,000 con-
Nm3/hr 759,181 684,193
Syn-Gas Compressor BHP 25,087 23,176 struction man hours to complete. The me-
k Watt 18,707 17,282 chanical completion of the project was
Refrigeration Compres- BHP 12,461 11,204
sor 4 days longer than the 29-day schedule but
k Watt 9,292 8,353 remained within the original cost estimate.
Heat Recovery in 123-C BTU/hr 143,775 149,395
J/hr 151,654 157,582
6. The new basket with new catalyst was pre-
Production STPD 1,678.3 1,678.9 dicted to have a savings of
MTPD 1,522.5 1,523.1 0.26 MMBTU/ST (0.30 GJ/MT). A com-
HP Purge SCFH 425,800 141,900
Nm3/hr 11,408 3,802 parison of the pre turnaround converter and
Table 4. Comparison of key process parameters post turnaround converter shows an energy
reduction of 0.61 MMBTU/ST
The reduced syn-gas compressor work is worth (0.71 GJ/MT). This difference is due to the
0.302 MMBTU/ST (0.351 GJ/MT), the reduced conservative estimate from the technology
refrigeration work is worth 0.223 MMBTU/ST provider and better than expected energy
(0.259 GJ/MT), and the heat recovery is worth savings.
0.080 MMBTU/ST (0.093 GJ/MT). The total 7. The start-up time could have been reduced
energy efficiency improvement is with the installation of more prereduced cat-
0.605 MMBTU/ST (0.703 GJ/MT). alyst, and there may have been an economic
benefit based on economic conditions.
8. Based on the success of the 3-bed design,
Thoughts and Conclusions we are considering an additional converter
bed in series with the S-300 for improved
1. During installation, no medical first aids, no
performance and production.
recordable incidents, and no loss time acci-
dents were recorded. This safety record is a
significant accomplishment considering the
vast array and complexity of the work pro-

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 130 2013

 References
1. Newland, R. L. , et al., “Revamped Ammo-
nia Plant Utilizing the Topsoe S-200 Radial
Flow Converter”, AIChE 32nd Ammonia
Symposium, 1987.

2. van Grieken, C. A., “Factors Controlling the

Nitriding of Stainless Steel in Ammonia
Synthesis Loops”, AIChE 33rd Ammonia
Symposium, 1988.

2013 131 AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 132 2013