(70e) Innovative Conceptual Design for an Industrial Complex Coupling Allam Power Cycle, Air Separation Unit, Ammonia Production, and Fertilizer Manufacturing Processes

The human population is expected to reach about 9.2 billion by 2050, when the land availability for farming could only keep the current level or even decrease. Thus, the demand and deployment of fertilizers, especially nitrogen fertilizers, must increase steadily in the future to enable the increase of the average land productivity. In addition to this challenge, the sustainable development of global economy will also need a fast-paced energy demand with less carbon footprint and cost-effective manufacturing methods. Natural gas is an abundant, cheap, and clean energy/material source in this planet that could be immediately available to help human to meet these two major challenges, which should be extensively studied for its comprehensive utilization.

In this paper, a super industrial complex (A3U) based on based on comprehensive utilization of natural gas has been developed, modeled, and analyzed, which include four subsystems: (i) an Allam-cycle power plant (ACPP); (ii) an air separation unit (ASU); (iii) an ammonia plant (AP), and (iv) a urea (UFP) fertilizer plant. The A3U complex employs natural gas and air as the major feedstocks. By optimally sharing energy/material streams among four subsystems, the A3U complex can simultaneously produce multiple products such as net power, ammonia, fertilizer, pipeline-ready CO2, pure nitrogen, and steam efficiently. Equally important, the A3U complex itself has very low carbon emissions during its manufacturing process. The developed A3U complex has been virtually demonstrated by rigorous modeling and simulation with ASPEN PLUS. Its corresponding economic and environmental benefits have also been provided.