What are the raw materials used to produce ammonia?

Ammonia is synthesized from two gases, nitrogen and hydrogen.

The vast majority of the world's ammonia synthesis is fuel-based. Commonly used fuels include coal, coke, liquid petroleum hydrocarbons, natural gas, and petroleum refinery gas. They react with water and air to produce a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen, and then the mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen is obtained by transforming the carbon monoxide into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and then removing the carbon dioxide by absorption.

Where there is a coke plant, coke oven gas can be used as a raw material. Coke oven gas contains more than 50% hydrogen, but also contains methane, carbon monoxide, ethylene and other gases, you can use the liquefaction temperature of these gases is different, in the low temperature to remove these impurities, and finally replenished with a certain amount of nitrogen, you can get high-quality hydrogen, nitrogen gas mixture.

Where electricity is particularly plentiful, hydrogen can be obtained by electrolyzing water. Then make the hydrogen in a limited amount of air combustion, water separation, the remaining gas is very little impurity hydrogen, nitrogen gas mixture.

In short, the choice of raw materials for ammonia synthesis should be based on local conditions and low prices. The vast majority of domestic plants are still coal, coke as raw material, the current new daily output of more than a thousand tons of more than a dozen large plants all with natural gas or naphtha (light oil in the petroleum industry) as a raw material. It is estimated that by the 21st century, poor quality coal will become an important raw material for ammonia synthesis, and China is also conducting relevant research and trial.