Environmental Constraints on New Plant Construction in the USA

Keywords: emission reduction, emissions from fertiliser plants, emissions from ammonia plants, emissions from nitric acid plants, emissions from fertiliser granulation plants, DeNOx, N₂O abatement, VOC emission reduction, NOx reduction from reformer flue gas, BACT values for fertiliser production.

This paper describes actual experience with limitations of emissions set by US-authorities for new fertiliser projects and compares such limitations with current BAT-values and best values achieved from other projects (BACT-values), respectively.

Discussed are related limits for the following emissions:

– Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as ozone pre-cursors.

– NOx greenhouse gases (GHG), in this case N₂O, CO₂ and CH₄.

– dust emissions and stack emissions, including opacity.

With respect to the following plant types:

– ammonia plants including steam reformers for syngas production.

– nitric acid plants.

– granulation plants (urea and ammonium nitrate plants).

The purpose is to share recent experience and offer a dialogue between operators, authorities and technology providers for ammonia, nitric acid and granulation plants with the aim to have an up-date and a guideline which emission limits are technically achievable today considering sustainable plant operation and appropriate operating margins.

Dr Klaus Ruthardt, ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG, Business Unit Process Technologies, Friedrich-Uhde-Straße 15, 44141 Dortmund, Germany.

24 pages 8 figures, 6 tables, 2 reference