Improved Efficiency And Lifetime Reliability With New Hydraulic Energy Recovery Design For CO₂ Removal In Ammonia Plants

By Prem Krish, Jeremy Martin, John Sienkiewicz, and Andrea Gains-Germain, Energy Recovery

The CO₂ removal process in ammonia production is a significant contributor to overall plant energy consumption. The bulk of the energy is used for regeneration of the rich solution, but an appreciable part is electric energy for pumping of the semi-lean solvent. Historically, hydraulic power recovery turbines, in the form of reverse running pumps, have been utilized as an energy recovery device in this application. This paper presents a new turbocharger-based solution. The use of a liquid phase turbocharger offers simplified design, compact footprint, rapid install and increased plant uptime with high efficiency across a wide range of operating conditions.