WORLD NEWS USA Casale to participate in green ammonia pilot project
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asale, as a member of a team that comprises RTI International, the University of Minnesota, Nutrien, GE, Shell, Nel Hydrogen, Xcel Energy, Great River Energy, Ottertail Power, Chemtonergy, Texas Tech University, Pacifica and Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), will participate in a project that is working towards realising a 1 tpd green ammonia pilot plant, using water electrolysis, ammonia synthesis and ammonia separation and utilisation technologies. RTI International will lead the consortium and the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will provide US$10 million in funding. The project will integrate the most promising breakthrough technologies developed in ARPA-E’s Renewable Energy to Fuels Through Utilization of Energy-Dense Liquids (REFUEL) programme into a modular demonstration facility capable of producing 1 tpd of low- and zero-carbon ammonia. The technologies include Casale and RTI’s low-temperature,
low-pressure synthesis along with flexible process control strategies that can vary ammonia production to meet available intermittent electricity, and the University of Minnesota’s (UMN) elevated temperature ammonia separation. The demonstration facility will be located at the UMN West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC), Morris, Minnesota, and will leverage the site’s existing hybrid wind and solar generation in the fully integrated process. The technology integration will also demonstrate several downstream ammonia utilisation technologies, including ammonia cracking to produce hydrogen and power generation to amplify the ability to use ammonia as an energy carrier. Successful deployment of the technology will reduce the energy intensity and carbon emissions of ammonia production, maximise renewable energy usage by capturing generation fluctuations and matching demand and enable distributed production closer to end users.
THE NETHERLANDS Stamicarbon launches green ammonia technology
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tamicarbon has announced the launch of Stami Green Ammonia Technology, which relies on renewable resources – instead of fossil fuels – to eliminate carbon from the production process, paving the way for sustainable and green fertilizer production. Ammonia acts as a building block for nitrogen fertilizers and plays an important role in providing optimal plant nutrition, but is responsible for 1% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The company has signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with Argentinian-based company Raybite S.R.L. for the commercialisation of their small-scale ammonia technology package. The cooperation agreement means that Stamicarbon has become an ammonia licensor for small-scale ammonia plants. The technology can also be applied in existing plants as part of a hybrid technology solution to make existing fertilizer production more sustainable. Stamicarbon will provide its green ammonia technology as part of the development of a renewable power-to-fertilizer plant in Kenya. MET Development, a subsidiary of the Maire Tecnimont Group with Stamicarbon, has signed an agreement with Oserian Development Co. for the development of the plant at the Oserian Two Lakes Industrial Park, located on the southern
banks of Lake Naivasha 100 km north of Nairobi. The plant will be located near the country’s largest geothermal energy basin and will be partly powered by solar energy sources produced on-site – displacing the need for fossil fuels – and eliminating carbon from the production. The facility will reduce carbon emission by approximately 100 000 tpy of CO2, compared to a gas-based fertilizer plant. The project will also reduce dependency on imported nitrogen fertilizers. The project is targeting production of 550 tpd of calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) and/or NPK fertilizers to meet the demand of local agricultural requirements. MET Development is currently engaging with local and international partners to set up the development consortium. The project has started preliminary engineering works and NextChem, also a Maire Tecnimont subsidiary, is aiming to start the front-end engineering design (FEED) by the end of 2021. Commercial operation of the plant is currently scheduled to begin in 2025, which will be dedicated to local Kenyan agri-business. The project will utilise approximately 70 MW of renewable power, will create the starting point for locally produced Kenyan fertilizer and is expected to directly generate over 100 jobs in the region.
MAY/JUNE 2021 | WORLD FERTILIZER | 5
