Obiettivo
To introduce innovatory aspects into the conventional ammonia (Solvay) soda ash production process to obtain an improvement in the competitiveness of AZC's soda ash production unit, primarily by effecting improvements in the energy consumed by the process; to produce a new dense ash of superior quality and a limited expansion of production capacity.
The project had to be abandoned prior to construction of the demonstration plant, due mainly to unacceptably low economic viability, attributed to higher than expected investment cost.
Other critical factors also changed unfavourably for the project:
- the dense ash market: capacity for super dense ash decreased from 185,000 T/y to less than 150,000 T/y;
- energy prices: a price increase of 6%/y was anticipated, whereas in reality, prices decreased, with no prospect of an increase in the near future;
- investment savings: it was assumed that, due to the new process, savings could be obtained in the existing plant (renovation of calcinators) and in the planned energy centre, amounting to DF 8.5 million. In reality the saving turned out to be DF 4 million.
Problems were also encountered in the evaluation of product properties, requiring additional and extensive testing, not only on a laboratory scale but on an industrial scale at customer facilities: these culminated with a successful large scale test.
The positive factors were:
- the Dutch government granted an additional subsidy of +/- DF 7 million at the end of the project in respect of the risks involved and the value of the technology;
- the planned energy centre was to be based on natural gas instead of coal, which gave a slightly higher steam price and therefore, higher savings.
When all the factors were taken into account, the project's viability after ten years of production and expressed as a discount cash flow percentage, decreased from 15% to less than 5% in comparison with the original plan.
After first re-evaluation of the project, a thorough analysis was made of all relevant factors affecting the viability of the process, including process know-how.
The following investigation were undertaken:
- evaluation of possible process improvements to reduce capital cost and/or other cost factors (eg. energy consumption);
- evaluation of alternative plant capacities and configurations, mainly to reducecapital investment (while retaining the demonstration character);
- re-evaluation of long term factors such as market position, fuel prices, plant replacement investments, licensing aspects etc.
It was concluded that only when a major replacement investment in the calcination section of the existing plant was required would the demonstration of the new process be feasible, or when third parties could be found to share the risks.
Design know-how was obtained from laboratory scale and pilot plant scale experiments. However, although the process has not been demonstrated on an industrial scale, in October 1985, a patent application was made in 16 countries including the United Kingdom, West Germany, the United States, France and Japan.
The conventional and proposed process are outlined to point out differences leading to energy savings. In the actual production of dense soda ash the sodium carbonate, filtered in the conventional ammonia soda ash plant is dry calcinated in calciners.
The light soda ash obtained is recrystallized by hydration to soda monohydrate in a mill followed by dehydration in fluid bed driers in which the product dense soda ash retains the shape of the monohydrate crystals.
The dry calcining and densification of the soda ash by hydration and drying and the necessary compression of CO2 for use in the carbonating towers of the soda ash plant are replaced by the proposed prlight soda process in which the filtered sodium bicarbonate of the conventional ammonia soda ash process is transferred to a reactor-crystallizer as a slurry, whereby at increased temperature and pressure water-free soda ash crystal will be formed. The soda ash slurry is flashed and centrifuged. The resulting soda ash is dried to the product dense wet calcining soda ash - as a by product, CO2 in compressed form, is produced which is led to the carbonating towers of the conventional light soda ash process. Low pressure steam generated in the plant is used in another part of the conventional light soda process.
The innovative features of the project are:
- scale free operation of crystallizer-heater (for which a patent application has been made in several countries);
- scale free operation at the advent of crystallizer conditions, the product drying and storage, by washing and crystal separation;
- production of new high quality super dense ash of extremely high particle density, chemical purity and abrasion resistance, with superior flow characteristics;
- on -line measurements with computer control of all critical crystallizer parameters.
Campo scientifico (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifica i progetti con EuroSciVoc, una tassonomia multilingue dei campi scientifici, attraverso un processo semi-automatico basato su tecniche NLP. Cfr.: Il Vocabolario Scientifico Europeo.
CORDIS classifica i progetti con EuroSciVoc, una tassonomia multilingue dei campi scientifici, attraverso un processo semi-automatico basato su tecniche NLP. Cfr.: Il Vocabolario Scientifico Europeo.
Questo progetto non è ancora stato classificato con EuroSciVoc.
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Programma(i)
Programmi di finanziamento pluriennali che definiscono le priorità dell’UE in materia di ricerca e innovazione.
Programmi di finanziamento pluriennali che definiscono le priorità dell’UE in materia di ricerca e innovazione.
Argomento(i)
Gli inviti a presentare proposte sono suddivisi per argomenti. Un argomento definisce un’area o un tema specifico per il quale i candidati possono presentare proposte. La descrizione di un argomento comprende il suo ambito specifico e l’impatto previsto del progetto finanziato.
Gli inviti a presentare proposte sono suddivisi per argomenti. Un argomento definisce un’area o un tema specifico per il quale i candidati possono presentare proposte. La descrizione di un argomento comprende il suo ambito specifico e l’impatto previsto del progetto finanziato.
Invito a presentare proposte
Procedura per invitare i candidati a presentare proposte di progetti, con l’obiettivo di ricevere finanziamenti dall’UE.
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Procedura per invitare i candidati a presentare proposte di progetti, con l’obiettivo di ricevere finanziamenti dall’UE.
Meccanismo di finanziamento
Meccanismo di finanziamento (o «Tipo di azione») all’interno di un programma con caratteristiche comuni. Specifica: l’ambito di ciò che viene finanziato; il tasso di rimborso; i criteri di valutazione specifici per qualificarsi per il finanziamento; l’uso di forme semplificate di costi come gli importi forfettari.
Meccanismo di finanziamento (o «Tipo di azione») all’interno di un programma con caratteristiche comuni. Specifica: l’ambito di ciò che viene finanziato; il tasso di rimborso; i criteri di valutazione specifici per qualificarsi per il finanziamento; l’uso di forme semplificate di costi come gli importi forfettari.
Coordinatore
7554 Hengelo
Paesi Bassi
I costi totali sostenuti dall’organizzazione per partecipare al progetto, compresi i costi diretti e indiretti. Questo importo è un sottoinsieme del bilancio complessivo del progetto.