The Application of Model Based Predictive Control for Ammonia Plants

by Robert Lin, Reinder de Boer, Bill Poe GE Continental Controls, Inc. Introduction There are about 400 ammonia plants globally. Most of these plants utilize natural gas as feedstock and fuel in the production of ammonia. Because of the high degree of interaction between each processing unit, weather changes, catalyst deactivation, equipment degradation and fluctuations in feed gas flow and composition, ammonia plants are not always operated at their optimum state. An advanced process control system is necessary to continuously optimize the operation of the ammonia plant. This article discusses the application of advanced process control for ammonia plants and presents actual data showing operational improvements.

The Ammonia Production Process and Plant Operation Although several processes have been developed for ammonia production, the predominant processing unit layout includes natural gas desulfurization, primary reforming, secondary reforming, water-gas shift conversion, carbon dioxide removal, methanation, synthesis gas compression, ammonia conversion and its associated separation loop, a refrigeration system and the steam system. A simplified process flow diagram is shown in Figure 1. Desulfurization Natural gas delivered to the battery limits contains sulfur compounds which are poisonous to the nickel catalyst in the primary reformer. The sulfur must be removed from natural gas before it is introduced to the primary reformer. Depending on the sulfur content in the natural gas, one or more desulfurizer catalysts are used. Normally, Zinc-Oxide catalyst performs as a final stage to keep the remaining sulfur in the natural gas to a non-detectable level in the outlet gas. The operation of the desulfurizer mainly depends on the Zinc-Oxide catalyst operating temperature and the sulfur absorption capabilities of the catalyst.

Primary Reformer The primary reformer can be separated into two distinct sections: a convection section, mainly used for heat recovery from the furnace flue gas while preheating the reformer feed gas, and a radiant section where the actual reforming action takes place under the influence of heat generated by dozens of fuel gas burners.

An auxiliary boiler is attached to the convection section to generate additional high pressure steam required to drive the syngas compressor. A typical design of the radiant section consists of a firebox with reformer catalyst tubes arranged in parallel, single width rows, fired from both sides by burners located in the furnace arch. The desulfurized natural gas first mixes with process steam at a desired steam to carbon ratio and is then heated in the convection section of the primary reformer. The heated mixed gas enters the tubes through manifolds above the furnace arch, flows downwards through the tubes, and is collected in the insulated outlet manifold located near the floor. An outlet manifold is provided for each row of reformer tubes. Combustion flue gases flowing downward in parallel to the catalyst tubes are collected in flue gas tunnels at the bottom of the reformer. The flue gases then pass through these tunnels into the convection section for heat recovery. The operation of the primary reformer is critical. Not only is the primary reformer the most expensive piece of equipment in the ammonia plant (about 30% of total capital cost), but its operation will affect the whole operation of the plant. Unstable operation of the primary reformer will affect the steam system and the performance of the downstream process units: secondary reformer, shift converters, methanator and synthesis loop. The primary reformer will greatly affect the ammonia production rate and overall energy consumption. Several major factors affect the operation of the primary reformer, including: feed gas flow and composition, fuel gas flow and composition, steam flow to the primary reformer, purge gas flow to the primary reformer, weather changes (wind direction, rain storms, etc.), catalyst deactivation, mixed feed inlet temperature to the primary reformer, and feed gas inlet pressure.

The main objective of the primary reformer is to maximize methane conversion with minimum fuel usage while preventing carbon deposition in the reforming tubes. The operating objective of the primary reformer is to control the steam to carbon ratio and the primary reformer exit temperature. Increasing the primary reformer exit temperature will increase the methane conversion but the fuel gas consumption will increase as well and carbon deposition in the reforming tubes becomes more likely. There is a trade-off between the increasing exit temperature and increasing fuel gas flow. The exit temperature must be controlled at a certain level. Due to the earlier mentioned factors and disturbances, it is quite common to experience difficulties in maintaining the primary reformer exit temperature at its desired value. Deviations of as much as 8F from the target control point are regular. The steam to carbon ratio is controlled excessively above the theoretical value (in the region of 1.7) to reduce the carbon deposits in the reforming tubes. Lowering the steam to carbon ratio will decrease the energy consumption greatly, but requires tight control of the reforming tube temperatures. Because of inconsistent secondary air openings between fuel gas burners and the above mentioned affecting factors, it is very difficult to realize uniform exit temperatures among the individual reforming tubes. A deviation of 30F around target temperature is quite common. Normally, operators intend to increase the steam to carbon ratio to avoid hot spots in reformer tubes. Increasing the steam to carbon ratio has three disadvantages when considering energy consumption: the steam must be generated in one way or another, steam must be heated in the reformer using additional fuel gas; and the steam must be condensed using cooling water before the process gas enters the carbon dioxide removal system.

Process simulations show that increasing the steam to carbon ratio by 0.1 will result in an increase in energy consumption of 0.15 MMBTU per ton of ammonia. Secondary Reformer The effluent from the primary reformer enters the secondary reformer for the final conversion of methane, generating the required hydrogen for the ammonia synthesis. Compressed process air is introduced to both combust some methane and hydrogen in order to supply the required reaction heat for the final methane conversion and at the same time supply nitrogen gas for the ammonia synthesis.

The main objective of the secondary reformer is to adjust air flow to control the desired hydrogen to nitrogen ratio in the synthesis loop. The hydrogen to nitrogen ratio mainly affects the ammonia conversion in the synthesis loop which in turn affects the syngas circulation rate, thus the overall energy consumption. Major factors affecting the hydrogen to nitrogen ratio are: feed gas flow and composition, purge gas flow from the synthesis loop, air flow, performance of the shift converters, performance of the carbon dioxide removal section, and performance of the ammonia converter.

Normally, the ammonia plant simply uses an air to feed gas ratio in the secondary reformer section to control the hydrogen to nitrogen ratio in the synthesis loop, but because of the long time lag, the slow effect of the air flow on the hydrogen to nitrogen ratio and the effects of the downstream sections, it is very difficult to control the ratio at a desired setpoint. The ratio can change from 2.5 to 3.5 within two hours, presenting a problem for a smooth and stable operation. Optimization of the hydrogen to nitrogen ratio to reduce energy consumption is not an option as long as basic control of the ratio can not be stabilized and maintained. Shift Converters The reformed gas effluent consists mainly of hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2) and steam (H2O). Steam will be condensed in downstream sections. The carbon oxides are poisonous for the ammonia synthesis catalyst and must be removed before the syngases enter the synthesis loop. The water gas shift conversion not only converts carbon monoxide into the more easy removable component CO2, but also generates additional valuable hydrogen as a by-product. Two converters, the high temperature shift converter (HTS) and the low temperature shift converter (LTS) are designed to realize this conversion with a guard shift converter (GSC) in between to protect the low temperature shift catalyst from sulfur poisoning. The shift reaction is exothermic and while the rate of reaction is favored by higher temperatures, the final carbon monoxide (CO) content is favored by lower temperatures. The high temperature shift converter is designed to take advantage of the higher reaction rate at elevated temperatures while the low temperature is designed to take advantage of a lower carbon monoxide equilibrium content at lower temperature.

Converting the carbon monoxide as much as possible is the main objective of this section and this is realized by controlling the inlet gas temperatures to the shift converters. Major factors affecting the shift converters are: feed gas flow and composition, CO content in the secondary reformer effluent, HTS inlet temperature, LTS inlet temperature, HTS catalyst activity, LTS catalyst activity, and steam to gas ratio.

The control objective of this section is to adjust the HTS and LTS inlet temperature in order to minimize the CO content at the LTS exit. Usually, when the catalyst is fresh, lower inlet temperatures are feasible, taking advantage of the equilibrium position. When the catalyst becomes deactivated, higher inlet temperatures are required to increase the reaction rate, maintaining the required CO conversion. Due to the deactivation of the catalyst, the operating inlet temperatures of the high and low temperature shift converters need to be increased periodically to maximize the carbon monoxide conversion. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Removal

The cooled raw synthesis gas from the shift section, containing about 20% carbon dioxide is fed to the bottom of the CO2 absorber. The carbon dioxide contained in the gas stream is removed by absorption in an aqueous amine solution at relatively high pressure and low temperature. The absorbed carbon dioxide is subsequently stripped from the amine solution at high temperature and low pressure in the amine stripper(s). In this section, the main objective is to minimize the CO2 content in the purified syngas. Amine flow to the absorber and steam flow to the stripper are controlled to realize this objective. Major factors affecting the carbon dioxide absorption are: feed gas flow and composition inlet to the absorber, lean amine inlet flow to the absorber, lean amine inlet temperature to the absorber, lean amine quality to the absorber,

absorption pressure, and feed gas inlet temperature to the absorber.

During normal operation, operators often leave the amine flow in manual control mode and automatically control the stripper overhead temperature by adjusting the steam flow to the reboiler(s). The carbon dioxide content in the purified syngas varies in the order of 200 PPM around its desired control setpoint and the energy consumption per ton of carbon dioxide removed is high. An opportunity exists in this section to optimize the amine flow to the absorber and steam flow to the stripper(s), reducing energy consumption. Methanator A methanator is used to convert all of the remaining carbon oxides (carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide) through a catalyzed reaction with hydrogen to methane. The operation of this section is generally stable. If the methanator experiences problems (such as a large temperature increase), it is usually caused by a problem in an upstream section (such as shift converters or the carbon dioxide removal section). If such an upset occurs, the upstream sections should be checked first. Ammonia Converter The ammonia converter is one of the most important units in an ammonia plant. Its performance affects the overall ammonia production and the operating cost (catalyst, energy consumption, etc.). Usually, one or more ammonia converters are used depending on the size and the design of the plant. The synthesis gas distribution has a distinct effect on the overall operation, if more than two converters are used. The objective of the ammonia converter operation is to convert as much of the synthesis gas as possible to ammonia with minimum hydrogen gas losses (from purge gas flow). The temperature profile in an adiabatic or quenched ammonia converter is a dominant factor in the ammonia conversion. Most ammonia plants operate the ammonia converter manually. A temperature variation of 40F is quite common, resulting in an ammonia conversion variation of 0.4%. Factors affecting the ammonia converter temperature profile are: synthesis loop pressure, synthesis gas inlet flow,

synloop recycle gas flow, synthesis gas inlet temperature to converter, synthesis gas inlet composition, syngas hydrogen to nitrogen ratio, purge gas flow, quench flow to each bed, and catalyst activity.

Some of the above factors (such as inert gas composition, hydrogen to nitrogen ratio, quench flow to each bed) are adjustable, however they can not be adjusted instantly. All of the factors are interdependent and a change in one will have an effect on the others. Consequently, good operation will be a combination of operating experience and a recognition of the factors affecting the operation of the system. A good control system is needed to monitor all the changes and take proper action whenever a change in process or ambient conditions occurs.

Model Based Advanced Process Control System and Actual Results Ammonia synthesis is a mature, highly integrated process. Due to the highly interactive nature between each process unit, a model based advanced control system with predictive and adaptive functionality is necessary to optimize the plant operation in achieving the following objectives: maximum plant profitability considering ammonia, carbon dioxide and export steam revenues, feed and fuel gas cost, smoother plant operation, reduced operator intervention by applying closed-loop supervisory control, minimum constraint violations with better safety guarantees, reduced energy consumption, increased throughput, and better process performance.

With the model based control system, each process unit has its own closed loop control to respond to the changes in other units. Should a model not function properly for some reason, such as instrument failure, control valve malfunction, etc, the remaining models still work, continuing to give the plant maximum optimized operating opportunities. Based on a typical Kellogg designed, natural gas as feedstock and fuel, ammonia production process, a model based advanced process control system such as GE Continental Controls, Inc.s MVC modular multivariable control system can be applied with the following described modules. 7

Two modules are set up for the primary reformer section, namely the primary

reformer furnace temperature control module and the primary reformer riser temperature balance control module. One module is established for the secondary reformer section, one for the water-gas shift section, one for the CO2 removal section and one module for the ammonia converter. Another module named the integrated module controls the plant pressure profile plus plant throughputs. All modules are supervised by an overall economic optimizer. Figure 2 shows the APC block diagram. All control modules and the optimizer work together to achieve the overall optimization objectives. Each of the modules controls independently while interactions among the process units are taken into consideration. The model based advanced process control for the ammonia production process is not limited to the above modules. Control modules can be added or deleted according to the specific ammonia process, such as C.F Brauns, Uhdes, ICIs or Topsoes process. Moreover, the model based advanced control system can be used in any continuous process1.

Primary Reformer Furnace Temperature Control Module This module is set up to control the primary reformer outlet temperature by adjusting the mixed fuel gas pressure to the reformer subject to the maximum tube skin temperature constraint. The feed gas flow and composition changes, fuel gas heating value (BTU) fluctuations, steam to carbon ratio and mixed gas inlet temperature to the reformer are considered as disturbance variables. This module reduces the reformer exit temperatures variations from normal 20 F to less than 3F, enabling more stable and smoother plant operations. Actual plant operating results from implementing this module in an ammonia plant are shown in Figure 3.

Primary Reformer Riser Temperature Balance Module Riser temperatures are a reflection of the reformer tube temperatures. The main objective of this module is to balance the riser temperatures, thus equalizing the reforming tube temperatures and individual tube methane conversion. This module will minimize: (1) the temperature differences between successive riser tube rows, (2) the temperature differences between the first row and the

last row of the reforming tubes, (3) the temperature difference between the first row and the middle row of the reforming tubes. More weight will be placed on the temperature difference between the tubes in the center and extremes of the furnace than on the temperature differences between successive tubes. Fuel gas flow controllers are manipulated and optimized to achieve this objective. By using the predictive and optimizing advanced process control system, the temperature differences among the reforming tubes have reduced from a normal 60F to less than 10F. Plant operating data is shown in Figure 4. The reduction in riser temperature differences enable plants to raise the reformer exit temperature, increasing ammonia production and to reduce the steam to carbon ratio. This saves energy while preventing hot spots in the reforming tubes, thus avoiding carbon deposition to occur. Generally, with the same reformer exit temperature, the steam to carbon ratio can be lowered by 0.1 to 0.2, which results in a 0.15 to 0.3 MMBTU fuel gas savings per ton of ammonia product. By avoiding hot spots in reforming tubes, the lifetime of the reforming tubes and catalyst will increase by two to three years2.

Secondary Reformer Module In this module, the controller will maintain the hydrogen to nitrogen ratio in the ammonia converter inlet at either an operator desired setpoint or a setpoint calculated by the optimizer by manipulating the air flow rate to the secondary reformer. The air flow is subject to the secondary reformer maximum outlet temperature constraint. The natural gas feed flow and composition, primary reformer exit temperature and purge gas flow from the synthesis loop are considered as disturbance variables. Because of the predictive and adaptive capability of this module, the hydrogen to nitrogen ratio is controlled extremely well. The variation of the ratio has reduced tenfold from a normal 0.5 to 0.05. Actual plant data is shown in Figure 4. Reducing the variation of the hydrogen to nitrogen ratio enables the plant to operate continuously at the optimum ratio. It has been reported that the optimum hydrogen to nitrogen ratio is 2.65, but no plant is operated at this low ratio because of synthesis gas compressor, air compressor and refrigeration system limits. Normally, a ratio of 2.8 to 2.85 will result in acceptable ammonia conversion and relatively low energy requirements to maintain circulation. The optimum ratio depends on the plants situation. In summertime, because of the limitation of the air compressor, the ratio should be higher to achieve maximum throughput while in wintertime the ratio should be

lowered to yield optimal operation. Stabilizing the hydrogen to nitrogen ratio and operating at a optimum ratio can save the ammonia plant about 0.2 MMBTU or more per ton of ammonia product.

Shift Module This module is designed to minimize the CO content in the reformed gas by controlling the outlet temperatures of the high temperature (HTS) and low temperature shift (LTS) converters by manipulating the inlet temperatures. Feed gas flow and composition are considered as disturbance variables. Minimizing the CO content from the shift section effluent has several advantages: more hydrogen will be generated by the water gas reaction, less hydrogen will be used in the downstream methanator section to convert the carbon monoxide to methane, and less methane (because of lower CO conversion to methane in the methanator) will be present in the synthesis loop which results in less purge gas losses.

By applying this module, at least two more tons of ammonia per day can be produced for a typical 1000 TPD ammonia plant.

Carbon Dioxide Removal Module In this module, the objective is to control the absorber overhead carbon dioxide composition by controlling the amine circulation flow rate and steam flow rate to the stripper bottom reboiler(s), subject to the stripper overhead temperature constraint. By regarding the feed gas flow and composition, lean amine inlet temperature to absorber and lean amine quality as disturbance variables, the variation of CO2 content in purified syngas can be reduced to less than 10 PPM. Minimizing carbon dioxide content in purified syngas has the following two advantages: reduced hydrogen consumption in the methanation section, and reduced the methane content in make-up syngas.

Ammonia Converter Module The main objectives of this module are to stabilize and optimize the converter temperature profile for maximum ammonia conversion by adjusting the quench

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flows to each converter bed. The synthesis loop pressure, inert gas composition, hydrogen to nitrogen ratio, syngas inlet temperature to converter, syngas feed flow to converter and ammonia content in syngas feed flow are considered as disturbance variables. This module can reduce the temperature variations from 20F to less than 4F. The ammonia conversion per pass through the converter can increase about 0.2-0.3% which reduces energy consumption by 0.1 to 0.2 MMBTU per ton of ammonia product.

Integrated Module This module is designed to control the pressure profile and overall throughputs of the plant. Feed gas flow, syngas compressor suction pressure, synthesis loop pressure, medium steam pressure and steam to carbon ratio are all controlled variables. The feed gas flow will be maximized in most cases to maximize ammonia production subject to the following constraints: feed gas flow maximum controller output, syngas compressor suction pressure maximum controller output, air compressor maximum speed, refrigerant compressor maximum speed, and primary reformer firebox maximum flue gas pressure.

Medium steam pressure is minimized to yield a higher pressure differential in the high pressure stage of the turbine driving the syngas compressor. This generates more horsepower subject to the maximum controller output constraints of all medium pressure steam users. More than ten tons of additional ammonia per day can be produced for a typical 1000 TPD facility by utilizing this module. Overall Economic Optimizer Module The real-time, online economic optimizer module maximizes an objective function based on the total ammonia produced, exported carbon dioxide and steam revenue, fuel gas and feed gas cost. Economic Optimizer Objective Function: Profit = NH3 Revenue + CO2 Revenue + Steam Revenue - Feed Cost - Fuel Cost

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The economic optimizer maximizes the plant profit by producing the optimum amount of ammonia product, CO2 product and exported steam. The optimizer determines the conditions that produce maximum profit subject to constraints as detailed at the individual module level plus the following constraints: minimum steam to carbon ratio, minimum steam export, and minimum ammonia production.

During each optimizer pass, a new set of manipulated variable setpoints is chosen and are used to calculate the constraints and the objective function. The optimizer then passes the setpoints to the corresponding modules. With these optimized setpoints, the plant is operated at its optimum state, maximum profit is obtained.

Summary A model based advanced control system enables ammonia plants to operate more stabile, smoother and more profitable. Due to the advanced control systems predictive and adaptive capabilities, the interactive effects between each process unit are handled properly and the effect of upset conditions on the downstream units can be minimized. Furthermore, if one module is not functioning due to instrument or control valve failure, the remaining modules will work, giving the plant maximum optimizing operation opportunities. For a typical 1000 TPD ammonia plant, with the model based advanced process control system, such as GE Continental Controls, Inc.s MVC multivariable control system, in excess of twelve tons of additional ammonia can be produced daily with an energy reduction of 0.6 MMBTU per ton of ammonia produced. Actual operating data is shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6. Depending on the capacity of the ammonia plant, the payback time of the model based advanced process control system is four (4) to seven (7) months.

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LITERATURE CITED 1. Lin, R., Viswanathan, S., Poe, W.: Cost Effective Control Solution for Processing Plants, Fertilizer Focus, September, 1998. 2. Twiggs, M.V., Editor, Catalyst Handbook, second edition, Wolfe Publishing, Ltd., PP 269, 1989. FUTHER REFERENCES 1. Lin, R., Munsif, H., Poe, W., Primary Reformer Operation: A Unique Application of Multivariable Control, Nitrogen No. 230, November-December 1997. 2. Grasdal, K., Barone, Peter, Poe, W., Benefits of Advanced Control to Ammonia Plant Operations, AIChE Ammonia Safety Symposium, San Francisco, California, September 22-24, 1997.

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