(589j) Sustainable Petroleum Coke Conversion to Blue Ammonia

The growing demand for energy drives the need to explore sustainable alternatives to conventional energy sources. This urgency has triggered the investigation into transforming a refinery byproduct into a sustainable energy carrier. This study proposes the conversion of high sulfur petcoke generated as a byproduct from refineries to clean ammonia with a production capacity of one million metric tons (MT/yr). The process is modeled using Aspen Plus, starting with syngas production via gasification of Petroleum Coke (Petcoke), followed by hydrogen purification and then ammonia synthesis. The process demonstrates an efficient conversion of the high-sulfur byproduct into clean energy by integrating sulfur removal and methanol absorption technology to reduce CO₂ emissions and minimize environmental impact while aligning with global sustainability goals. Key results include a hydrogen yield of 16% at the syngas stage and a cold gas efficiency (CGE) of 63%. Moreover, the process is optimized to achieve an energy consumption of 28 GJ per ton of ammonia. A comprehensive economic evaluation revealed the profitability and viability of the process requiring a total investment of $1.6B with a Payout time of 6.8 years and a levelized operating cost of ammonia (LOCA) at $212 per ton of ammonia. These findings validate the technical and economic feasibility of ammonia production from Petcoke, providing a promising pathway for the sustainable utilization of refinery byproducts and supporting further advancements in this field.