Nitric Acid
MECS® technology for nitric acid (HNO3) production is designed to offer fertilizer companies the flexibility they need to optimize processes depending on their feed stream and maximize return on investment through energy recovery and formation of concentrated HNO3. All of our equipment is designed to be highly corrosion-resistant.
Nitric acid is a common mineral acid used for the production of fertilizers, while the concentrated form is used in the production of synthetic fibers such as nylon, as well as dyes, perfumes, drugs and explosives.
We offer two types of proven plant design options: dual- and single-pressure plants. Both are suitable for efficient, large-scale production of HNO3.
In the dual-pressure process, nitric acid is produced through high-temperature oxidation of ammonia in a platinum catalyst chamber at approx. 600 °C under low-pressure. The oxidized product then passes through the heat exchanger to recover the majority of the heat and reduce the temperature of the nitric oxide to around 150 °C. After cooling, a secondary oxidation of the process gas is carried out in a low-pressure condenser that combines NO, NO2 and O2 with water to create a dilute form of HNO3.
A proportion of the energy created in the course of the process is recovered and used to heat the tail gas. In a next step, low-pressure process gas enters a NOx gas compressor, then fed into a high pressure cooler-condenser and absorption tower for recycling to produce HNO3 of almost 68wt%. In the final step, HNO3 steam is passed over concentrated H2SO4 to produce concentrated HNO3.
Unlike the dual-pressure process, oxidation and absorption in single-pressure plants take place at the same pressure, though users can choose between high-pressure (H) and medium-pressure (M) design options. The choice will depend on your production focus.
High pressure is the right choice when the focus is on producing a solution of nitric acid, while the medium-pressure design option is the efficient choice for oxidation with ammonia with air to produce nitric oxide.
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