New Nitric Acid Process

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

The project will develop a new nitric acid production process for integration in a profitable new zero emission fertilizer production process, a key enabler for Yara's target to become carbon neutral by 2050. The shift from fossil to electrical energy based production implies a shift from heat to electrical energy integration. The vast amounts of heat generated in the nitric acid production will be converted to electrical energy, reducing the net energy consumption of the full fertilizer plant. At the core of the novel electrical fertilizer plant is an electrolyzer producing hydrogen from water. Normally, the oxygen by-product is vented, but the novel nitric acid process will use the oxygen to achieve a range of improvements. Firstly, researchers at Yara have identified opportunities for increased energy recovery and power export by optimal integration of oxygen. Secondly, intensification with oxygen appears to offer the potential of significant CAPEX savings by tailoring reactor design and materials. Thirdly, the pure oxygen stream implies an additional degree of freedom that can be translated to new optimum process conditions giving lower OPEX and resource consumption. The improved process will be obtained through process development and modelling, obtaining new experimental data for chemical reactions and novel materials under non-standard conditions, and development of models predicting the performance of reactors with novel design operated with unconventional process conditions. Achievement of the project targets will be an instrumental contribution to future profitable green fertilizer production, giving Yara a competitive position in a future sustainable fertilizer and food market.