- Markets
- Services
- Technologies
- Projects
- About KBR
- Corporate Information
- Leadership
- Business Units
- Subsidiary Operations
- Global Presence
- Newsroom
- Investors
- Social Responsibility
- Careers
KBR offers KAAPplus™ (KBR Advanced Ammonia Process plus) for new ammonia plants which synergistically combines the advantages of three KBR ammonia technologies: KRES™, Purifier™, and KAAP™. The result is a lower-cost, more reliable ammonia plant than a conventional ammonia plant.
Overall, the KAAPplus Ammonia Process offers lower capital costs, more competitive energy consumption, increased reliability, and lower maintenance costs than competing process designs using conventional magnetite ammonia synthesis catalyst. The KAAPplus process design eliminates the primary reformer and reduces the complexity and cost of the synthesis gas compressor. These are the two pieces of equipment in an ammonia plant that traditionally require the most maintenance.
The KRES (KBR Reforming Exchanger System) replaces the traditional, large and expensive primary reformer with a much smaller, simpler and more reliable equipment configuration consisting of a KBR reforming exchanger in parallel with an autothermal reformer. The auto thermal reformer in the system as implemented in the KAAPplus™ process uses air instead of oxygen-enriched air, because the downstream Purifier requires excess nitrogen. Therefore, an air separation unit is not needed for the KRES™ system.
Read more about the KBR Reforming Exchanger System (KRES).
The cryogenic purification process removes the excess nitrogen, all methane, and most of the argon from the syngas. The Purifier™ process provides a very clean and dry make-up gas to the synthesis loop. This reduces the load on the synloop and refrigeration system which results in capital and operating cost savings. The small synloop purge is recycled to the Purifier, so a separate purge gas recovery unit is not needed.
Read more about KBR's Purifier™ Cryogenic Syngas Purification.
KAAP™ synthesis catalyst uses ruthenium as the active ingredient on a highly-stabilized graphitic base material. KAAP™ catalyst is 10-20 times more active than traditional magnetite catalyst, which allows lower synthesis loop pressure than is practical with magnetite catalyst. The low synthesis pressure allows use of a single-barrel syngas compressor and reduced pipe-wall thicknesses, which reduces plant capital cost. However, ruthenium metal costs have varied significantly over the past ten years, and the cost of the initial charge of KAAP™ catalyst must be considered in evaluating the overall economics and advantages of the KAAPplus™ process.
Read more about KBR's KAAP™ Synthesis Converter.
