Conceptual Design of a Once-Through Gas-to-Liquid Process Combined with Ammonia Synthesis

Recently, a new process has been proposed for a once-through gas-to-liquid (GTL) plant suitable for offshore applications. Here, cogeneration of ammonia is suggested. This is firstly because the main ingredients for ammonia production, i.e., nitrogen and hydrogen, are available in the proposed GTL process. Secondly, cogeneration of ammonia increases the commercial attractiveness of the GTL process. The proposed ammonia process is simple as it does not require separate water-gas-shift reactors and a CO₂ capture unit, which are typically necessary in an ammonia process. The combined GTL-ammonia process is autonomous in the sense that it is self-sufficient with power and water and, therefore, well-suited for production in remote locations such as a floating production unit. The extra ammonia production will increase significantly the total revenues, which makes the combined process commercially attractive.