Ammonium Nitrate Neutralization & Evaporation

Uhde offers its customers many years of expertise and experience in chemical plant engineering - from the execution of process studies to the handling of projects on an EPC basis.

Our portfolio includes state-of-the-art processes for the production of ammonium nitrate solution (AN) and/or melt as feedstock for all types of AN processes. These include the production of urea ammonium nitrate solutions (UAN), prilling of low-density ammonium nitrate (LDAN, CPAN) and granulation of fertilisers (AN, CAN).

Uhde offers plants for AN neutralisation with a capacity of up to 2,000 mtpd and is one of the leading licensors of these processes.

The Uhde^® AN vacuum neutralisation is a proprietary process which is characterised by maximum reliability and safety during plant operation. The process features a proprietary system for mixing ammonia and nitric acid and a forced circulation system for cooling the AN solution thus produced. In this way, the process ensures stable operating conditions with high efficiency and low emissions (no aerosol formation). The concentration of the AN solution required in downstream plants is achieved in a second process step by means of evaporation under vacuum. Uhde offers this evaporation both as natural circulation and as falling film evaporation.

The Uhde^® AN vacuum neutralisation process is characterized by:

• high product quality in accordance with international standards

• high reliability and long operating times of the plants

• references between 200 and 2000 mtpd AN (100%)

• highest safety in operation due to sophisticated process and control concepts

• low operating temperature to avoid decomposition of the AN and formation of AN aerosols in the production process

• easy start-up and shut-down of the plant

• energy efficiency

• very low contamination of the process condensate (~10 ppm nitrogen)

• low maintenance and low corrosion (due to low operating temperatures)

• cost efficiency

In addition to vacuum neutralisation Uhde offers various pressure neutralisation processes which use the process vapours generated during neutralisation as a heating medium for the subsequent AN evaporation. This significantly reduces OPEX.

We also offer the Uhde^® offgas neutralization process for the production of UAN, which uses ammonia-rich offgas from a urea synthesis plant at low operating pressure. This offgas is neutralized with nitric acid in a natural circulation system to form AN.

All the above mentioned processes are referenced and proven worldwide.

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