KNOW-HOW DELIVERED

AMMONIA REVAMP
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Make the Future Happen Faster
Owners of older ammonia plants now confront many challenges rising feedstock
prices, growing global demand, a changing regulatory landscape, and competition from
larger, more energy-efcient plants. Building a new plant carries hefty capital costs. It
can disrupt operations as you transition to the new facility. It takes time. So many plant
owners debottleneck existing facilities instead of building new capacity and they call
on KBR Technology.
Our know-how is there to help when your facility is a revamp candidate. If you own
a 1970s or 1980s-era plant that has never been substantially revamped, KBR revamp
projects can increase plant capacity by 25-50%.
Is capacity utilization low due to natural gas supply curtailment, or the uncertainty
of future supply? Do you need to reduce your operations dependence on natural
gas by substituting alternative fuels? Do not reharp your furnace or replace
reformed gas waste heat boiler. KRES
TM
revamps help you consume less than
6.4 Gcal/t natural gas.
Do you want to produce HP steam in the synthesis loop of
your 1970s-vintage plant? Our Ammonia Converter Upgrade
technology does this and helps modernize plant processes
at the same time.
A KRES revamp solution can extend reformer and waste heat
boiler tube life, further improving plant reliability and increasing
exibility. The KRES reforming system also generates less
ue gas than other systems, which results in reduced NO
x
emissions so you can
meet more stringent regulations and reduce your environmental footprint.
KBR ammonia revamp projects help you achieve productivity and economic
improvements within efcient schedules, along with proven reliability.
HOW
AMMONIA CASE 1
SITUATION:
Two natural gas-based 1520 MT/D
ammonia plants had been in
continuous production since 1985.
These plants were designed by KBR.
The owners opted for a revamp of the
plants to increase capacity and reduce
energy consumption.
SOLUTION:
Install Purier technology to achieve
lower operating costs, extend asset
life and achieve lowest proven energy
consumption of any competing solution.
RESULTS:
Maximize economic capacity increase
to 1,890 metric tons per day (MTPD)
Reduce energy consumption from
8.03 Gcal/t (LHV) to 7.69 Gcal/t
Unmatched Experience
Matched to Your Demand
Partner with KBR to optimize your efciency and capitalize on market opportunities.
There is a reason we have become the rst name in ammonia technology. A leading
ammonia licensor and innovator since 1943, we have licensed more than 200 ammonia
plants. We have completed more than 150 revamp studies and 100 ammonia revamp
projects, including 30 process revamps and 48 furnace revamps between 1990 and
today.
No other company can match KBRs experience, or the depth and variety of our
proprietary process technology portfolio. Our dependable ammonia plant revamp
solutions yield proven capacity increases in older plants, reduce energy requirements on
a per-ton-of-ammonia basis and achieve attractive project paybacks, some in as few as
3-5 years.
Assess, Identify and Improve
Your plant is not like any other. In fact, its very likely that your
plant is quite different than the one that was commissioned. Over
years of operation modications get made. Parts wear out and get
replaced. Feedstock mixes change. Thats why every KBR revamp
project begins with a thorough process study of your entire plant.
Using sophisticated evaluation tools and decades of hands-on ammonia experience, the
KBR study team conducts a process study, simulating your current operation to
determine sustainable capacity, pinpoint bottlenecks, assess energy consumption and
equipment performance and identify areas of improvement.
Some facilities opt for abbreviated studies using data gathered by their own onsite plant
engineers. No matter the approach, a number of revamp process options will be
considered and the costs and benets of each option carefully weighed to nd the most
cost-effective solution for your requirements. KBR has experience revamping not only
KBR plants but also non-KBR technology plants. We typically nd more improvement
opportunities in non-KBR plants.
HOW
AMMONIA CASE 2
SITUATION:
A Chinese chemical company had
been operating a conventional
KBR Technology-based 1000 MTPD
ammonia plant since 1978. The plant
was actually producing up to 1070 MTPD
ammonia but was facing regular natural
gas supply curtailments that negatively
affected capacity utilization.
SOLUTION:
A KRES+ATR revamp replaced the
existing primary reformer and secondary
reformer, allowing the operator to
use coal to generate steam for the
process, thus reducing the natural
gas requirements.
RESULTS:
Natural gas usage reduced from
9.2 to 6.5 GCal/MT
Up to 29% higher capacity utilization
during natural gas curtailment
yielding signicant greater ammonia
production
13% higher CO2 production from
the ammonia plant, maximizing the
conversion of ammonia to urea
A more fexible and robust operation
with high reliability as a result of
eliminating the primary reformer
furnace
Lower capital cost due to mechanically
simple construction fabricated locally
with assistance from KBR
Successful continuous operation
since 2003
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KBR AMMONIA PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES
KBR ammonia revamp solutions are customized for
your plant and your revamp targets. Whether your
goal is to increase plant capacity, reduce energy
consumption, decrease maintenance costs or meet
new environmental standards, we offer exible
revamp solutions to meet the challenge. Based on
our proprietary ammonia technologies, our revamp
technologies have been tested and proven over years
of commercial application in plants worldwide.
KBRs conventional ammonia plant revamp
process utilizes a conventional ow scheme
consisting of a steam methane reformer combined
with a secondary reformer producing the standard
stoichiometric hydrogen/nitrogen ratio synthesis gas
to increase capacity and successfully optimize energy
consumption. This option delivers:
Increased capacity up to 50% for 1970s-1980s era
plants
Increased capacity up to 15-20% for newer plants
Decreased energy consumption
Increased revenues and reduced operating costs
KRES
TM
(KBR Reforming Exchanger System)
revamp, our proprietary system for synthesis gas
reforming, delivers a reliable, maintenance-free
operation with decreased capital costs, reduced
operating costs and lower emissions. KRES can be
used to increase or replace syngas production
capacity from an existing Steam Methane
Reformer (SMR) with minimum downtime. In a total
SMR replacement, feed+fuel consumption of natural
gas can be reduced up to 30% while
allowing a less expensive fuel, such as coal, to
generate the steam needed for the process.
KRES
TM
technology upgrades the SMR to a lite
reformer. Energy substitution to an alternative source
is maximized. Feed+fuel consumption of natural gas
is reduced so that a plant could produce 30-50% more
ammonia on a sustained basis by using a less expen-
sive and easily available source of energy, such as coal,
to generate the steam needed to substitute energy to
the process. KRES is a solution for plants forced to re-
duce capacity utilization due to natural gas curtailment.
It may be used to maintain or increase the ammonia
capacity by reducing dependency on natural gas supply
by up to 50%.
Purier
TM
revamp, KBRs proprietary cryogenic
Purier process, removes all the methane and 60% of the
argon leaving a nearly inert-free syngas, reducing capital
and operating costs vs other conventional solutions while
increasing capacity and plant reliability. Used alone or in
combination with a KRES revamp, our Purier process can
increase plant capacity up to 50% and
combined with other improvements can reduce plant
energy consumption.
Ammonia Converter Upgrade revamp: More than
150 KBR and other similar (e.g. GIAP) ammonia plants
built in the 1970s use vertical cold wall ammonia
synthesis converters with a heat exchanger at the top.
KBR now offers a special technology which allows the
generation of high pressure steam in the synthesis loop
by carrying a simple modication on the internals of this
converter. These plants are inherently energy inefcient
as they do not generate HP steam in their synthesis loop.
This KBR technology can bring the energy efciency of
your plant closer to that of the modern plants. The tech-
nology applies to all the synthesis loops, irrespective of
their current revamp status.
Operators throughout the world are revamping their
plants using our proprietary KRES and Purier to increase
capacity and reduce energy consumption.
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KBR PROPRIETARY AMMONIA EQUIPMENT
Low-cost, energy-efficient technology offers your
ammonia plant measurable performance advantages.
Proven over time in multiple installations, our
proprietary ammonia equipment (combined with our
innovative processes) offers the exibility, reliability
and workhorse performance that gives our revamp
clients a competitive edge. Licensed through our
preferred vendors and contractors, KBR equipment
is designed to meet the specications and project
requirements of modern ammonia producers for
safety, low operating costs and superior uptime.
KBR Top-Fired Steam Methane Reformer (SMR)
overcomes many of the mechanical design
challenges in primary reforming to yield lower energy
consumption and record-setting reliability in more
than 200 ammonia, methanol and hydrogen plants
worldwide.
KBR Reforming Exchanger System (KRES
TM
)
replaces a primary reformer with a red feedgas
preheater, an autothermal reformer (ATR) and a
reforming exchanger in a reliable open-ended
tube design. It delivers lower CAPEX, operation
and maintenance costs with smaller plot
requirements. Reforming exchanges can also be
used separately to debottleneck a conventional
steam-methane reformer.
Purier
TM
Cryogenic Syngas Purication is a simple
design consisting of a compact core exchanger,
a cryogenic column with a built-in condenser and
a feed gas expander. The KBR Purier provides
high-purity synthesis gas, precise control of H2/N2
ratios and provides the benet of mild reforming
temperatures leading to lower operating costs,
longer catalyst tube life and the lowest proven
energy consumption as low as 6.5 Gcal/MT.
KBR Reformer Gas Waste Heat Boiler features a
vertical, natural-circulation, watertube, oating-head
design with a removable WHB tube bundle. The KBR
design provides lower initial costs, higher reliability and
less maintenance than red-tube boiler designs.
Horizontal Ammonia Synthesis Converter for
conventional magnetite ammonia synthesis loops
consists of two or three reaction stages, each
with vertical downward ow in the catalyst beds.
Intercoolers between the reaction stages provide
feed gas preheating leading to maximum conversion
and heat recovery. The KBR horizontal converter also
features a removable basket that can be rolled out
of the converter on tracks for easier loading and
unloading of catalyst.
Single-bed Vertical, Radial-ow Magnetite
Ammonia Converter features a separate converter
vessel consisting of a magnetite catalyst bed with
or without an internal heat exchanger. This converter
is typically used downstream of the main converter
to boost per pass ammonia conversion to maximize
capacity as well as energy efciency.
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KBR Technology Services and Support
Expert KBR support ensures lasting success of ammonia revamp projects.
Once the revamp option is dened and selected during the study phase, the KBR
design team will develop the basic engineering design package (BED).
KBR engineers carefully consider every aspect of the project from critical equipment
and systems to start up and shutdown to ensure the most reliable solution. With the
BED package, clients then select a local detailed engineering contractor to execute
procurement and construction of the project. KBR clients continue to receive technical
support from concept to reality. A team of KBR ammonia experts is available to provide
complete on-site commissioning and start-up services.
Advanced Process Control (APC) systems from KBR help make certain you maintain
smooth operations for years to come. Advanced process automation tools enable
performance improvements by continuously operating the unit at specied design
limits and constraints. In addition to control applications, KBR APC systems deliver
real-time performance indicators that report on the health of the plant. Using this
ongoing monitoring to take proper corrective actions at the appropriate time, operators
can maintain productivity and protability.
Operator Training Simulators (OTS) improve the operators
understanding of plant operation prior to startup and help them
maintain their competency level over time. OTS incorporates
KBRs in-depth knowledge of the technology customized to the
owsheet process of each plant, providing a realistic training
experience for startup, operation and shutdowns, as well as
emergency conditions and malfunctions.
The availability of KBR expertise plays a signicant role in assuring safe operation, lower
operating costs and superior onstream time that are crucial to long-term productivity.
AMMONIA CASE 3
SITUATION:
An ammonia plant in India had reached
the limits of its economic capacity.
Designed to produce 1,500 MT/D, it was
running at highest capacity. The owners
decided to revamp the existing plant
to increase capacity and lower total
energy consumption.
SOLUTION:
Install KRES in parallel with the existing
SMR and upstream of secondary
reformer to increase capacity, reduce
emissions and enhance plant energy
efciency by fully using the capacity of
the existing ISBL and OSBL equipment.
RESULTS:
Reduced energy consumption from
7.45 Gcal/t (LHV) to 6.96 Gcal/t
resulting in lower production costs
Increased capacity from 1,510 MT/D
to 1,940 MT/D
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Every day, reliable, commercially proven
KBR ammonia process solutions improve
productivity and improve lives around the
globe. We look forward to talking with
you about the ways we can help your
world work better.
KNOW-HOW DELIVERED
www.kbr.com/ammonia
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2011 KBR
K10106 08/11