Economics of producing ammonia from coal by pressurized entrained and Koppers--Totzek gasification

Conference · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1978

OSTI ID:6634604

Morel, W C; Yim, Y J

The demand for fertilizer will steadily increase as the world population continues to grow at a rapid rate. Almost all nitrogen fertilizer is derived from ammonia. Natural gas is the raw material to produce almost all the ammonia in the United States, but its availability for industrial use will decrease significantly in the future. Domestic consumption of natural gas will have top priority especially during the winter months. By 1990 the present administration plans to phase out natural gas for industrial use. Therefore, a substitute raw material for ammonia production will be needed to supplement and eventually replace natural gas. Coal, our richest fossil energy resource, is a likely possibility to replace natural gas. An economic evaluation of ammonia production from coal-derived hydrogen and air-derived nitrogen, based on a 1,000-ton-per-day capacity, is presented. Two coal entrained gasification systems for producing the hydrogen requirement are compared--one which operates at 30 atmospheres, and the other, Koppers-Totzek, which operates at a slightly higher than atmospheric pressure. Two different coals--Illinois No. 6 and Montana subbituminous--were considered for each system. The estimates are based on January 1977 cost indexes. Average selling prices of the ammonia were determined by using discounted cash flow (DCF) rates of 12, 15, and 20% at various coal costs. No inflation factors are included during the life of the plant. Pollution abatement considerations have been incorporated. Some of the economic and technical details are included for the two systems.

• Research Organization: Department of Energy, Morgantown, WV (USA). Process Evaluation Office
• OSTI ID: 6634604
• Report Number(s): FE-EES-78/5; CONF-780902-6
• Resource Relation: Conference: American Chemical Society meeting, Miami, FL, USA, 10 Sep 1978
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
08 HYDROGEN
10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
AMMONIA
CHARGES
PRODUCTION
COAL GASIFICATION
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
ECONOMICS
FERTILIZERS
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
KOPPERS-TOTZEK PROCESS
GASIFICATION
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
010500* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Products & By-Products
010404 - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Gasification
080107 - Hydrogen- Production- Coal Gasification
090320 - Inorganic Hydrogen Compound Fuels- Preparation- (1976-1989)