In a process for the production of ammonia in at least two reaction systems, in which ammonia is produced from a portion of the synthesis gas in each of the systems with a part-stream being withdrawn, the make-up gas is essentially inert-free, the downstream system is at the same pressure or at a higher pressure than the upstream system and the make-up gas is sent once through a make-up gas (MUG) converter unit, the residual synthesis gas coming from the MUG converter unit is optionally pressurized to a higher pressure before being sent to an inert-free synthesis loop. This way, an economically attractive production of ammonia is feasible with synthesis gases not containing inerts.

The present invention is directed to the removal of ammonia from an ammonia reactor product stream. Systems and methods of the present invention enable ammonia to be synthesized and removed using a broader range of process conditions than are possible with current industrial practices. In particular, the systems and methods enable the use of higher temperatures, lower pressures, and higher reactant flows.

Systems and methods for producing ammonia. The system can include a first ammonia converter, a second ammonia converter, a product separator, and an ammonia recovery unit. The first ammonia converter can be adapted to react a syngas to produce a first ammonia product and a first purge gas. The second ammonia converter can be in fluid communication with the first ammonia converter and can be adapted to react the first purge gas to produce an effluent. The product separator can be in fluid communication with the second ammonia converter and can be adapted to separate the effluent to produce a second ammonia product and a second purge gas. The ammonia recovery unit can be in fluid communication with the product separator and can be adapted to separate at least a portion of the second purge gas to produce a third ammonia product and a third purge gas.

A system and method for producing ammonia at high conversion rates. The system having a fluidized bed reactor with a fluidized zone with catalyst particles. The fluidized bed reactor is preferably configured to receive a continuous flow of solid sorbent particles, nitrogen, and hydrogen, with the catalyst particles being at least ten times larger than the sorbent particles. The method allows for the nitrogen and hydrogen react on a surface of the catalyst in order to generate ammonia that is adsorbed by the sorbent particles. The method extracts the adsorbed ammonia from the sorbent particles with a sorbent regenerator to product a pure ammonia product.

A system for producing ammonia comprises a reactor configured for receiving nitrogen feed gas and hydrogen feed gas, the reactor comprising a catalyst configured to convert at least a portion of the nitrogen gas and at least a portion of the hydrogen feed gas to ammonia to form a reactant mixture comprising the ammonia and unreacted nitrogen feed gas and unreacted hydrogen feed gas, an adsorbent configured to selective adsorb at least a portion of the ammonia from the reactant mixture, and a recycle line to recycle the unreacted nitrogen feed gas, the unreacted hydrogen feed gas, and unabsorbed ammonia to the reactor.

An active catalyst for ammonia synthesis is integrated with a specialty sorbent in a composition or composite, such that the catalyst portion and the sorbent portion are in direct intimate contact, which overcomes the thermodynamic limits for conversion. The sorbent may comprise a metal halide absorbent, zeolite adsorbent, other material absorbents or adsorbents, to capture ammonia as it is produced in intimate or near molecular contact with the catalyst, wherein the composition/composite may be provided in the form of a granular or pellet structure. By removing ammonia essentially as it forms, the forward reaction for producing ammonia can continue nearly unabated such that high net conversion can be achieved in a single pass or cumulative within segmented reactors as operated in series.

An ammonia-producing system comprises a reactor that catalytically converts nitrogen and hydrogen feed gases to ammonia to form a reaction mixture of the ammonia, unreacted nitrogen gas, and unreacted hydrogen gas. A feed system feeds the nitrogen and hydrogen gases to the reactor at a reaction pressure of from about 9 to about 100 atmospheres. A reactor control system controls the temperature during conversion of the nitrogen and hydrogen to ammonia by maintaining a reaction temperature of from about 330 C. to about 550 C. An absorbent selectively absorbs at least a portion of the ammonia from the reaction mixture, and an absorbent control system controls one or both of a temperature and pressure at the absorbent during selective absorption of the ammonia from the reaction mixture. A recycle line downstream of the absorbent recycles the unreacted nitrogen and unreacted hydrogen to the reactor.

A method for synthesizing ammonia for agricultural fertilizers employs water (H2O) as the source of hydrogen (H2) in ammonia (NH3) synthesis, and gathers carbon monoxide (CO) as a limiting reagent for combining in a WGS (Water-Gas-Shift) reaction for producing hydrogen. The WGS reaction employs CO with the water to produce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and H2, consuming undesirable CO from other industrial applications. A by-product of the process includes generating 1.5 mole of CO2 for each mole of ammonia synthesized. An intermediate step consumes 3 moles of hydrogen for each mole of Nitrogen (N2). The use of methane gas is avoided as the process employs CO and the WGS reaction as an exclusive source of H2 without introducing methane (CH4). A downstream synthesis of ammonia can be done through a fuel cell to produce electricity for the ammonia synthesis for further sustainability.

Methods and systems for making ammonia are provided. The method can include heating a first compressed syngas to produce a heated first syngas. The heated first syngas and a second compressed syngas can be combined to produce a combined syngas. The combined syngas can be reacted within a first ammonia converter and a second ammonia converter to produce an ammonia product. Heat from the ammonia product can be transferred to a first heat transfer medium to produce a first cooled product and a second heat transfer medium. Heat from the first cooled product can be transferred to a third heat transfer medium to produce a second cooled product. Heat from the second cooled product can be transferred to the combined syngas to produce a third cooled product. The third cooled product can be separated to produce a purified ammonia product and a recycle gas.

Provided is a novel production system that does not involve, or can minimize, the transport of liquid ammonia in the production of an organic compound or the production of a microorganism by microbial fermentation. A production system for an organic compound or a microorganism includes: an ammonia synthesis apparatus in which an ammonia-containing gas is synthesized by reaction of a source gas containing hydrogen and nitrogen in the presence of a supported ruthenium catalyst; and a culture apparatus that cultures a microorganism having organic compound productivity using ammonia originating from the ammonia-containing gas obtained by using the ammonia synthesis apparatus.