Fertilizer production in the chemical industry

Healthy growth through transformation with Digital Enterprise

Fertilizers play a major part in agriculture in terms of helping supply the constantly growing global population with foodstuffs. To remain successful in the fertilizer market, you need maximum process safety and energy efficiency. With us as your partner over the lengthy service life of your systems, you’ll benefit from reduced costs of plant and project management, and a lower Total Cost of Ownership. We make your goals our own.

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More efficiency through automation, electrification and the Digital Enterprise

Fertilizer production is one of the most energy-intensive processes there is. To meet the higher standards of energy efficiency and CO2 emissions, plants must be continually modernized and transformed. As an experienced international partner, we’ll bring you fertilizer plant up to date.

With the Digital Enterprise, you can integrate and digitalize your business processes - the pace of your specific digital transformation is always kept as flexible as possible. Take advantage of the enormous benefits of the digital twin to optimize your existing processes and equipment.

The Digital Enterprise for the process industry

Continually innovative processes

How you can deal with the challenges of fertilizer production and transforming in a digital plant.

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State-of-the-art production

Take advantage of our modular systems for operations analysis, process optimization, reducing energy consumption and emissions, and make your fertilizer plant state of the art.

Basis for optimization

An exact knowledge of the process parameters in the field and smartly linking the data to decision-relevant information form the basis for optimizing your fertilizer plant.

Reliable and safe processes

We offer integrated solutions to improve your plant and process safety and ensure that you are on the right path toward a reliable, safe and sustainable fertilizer plant.

Process optimization and energy management in the fertilizer industry

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Use cases and concepts The ammonia production process passes through a number of stages, from desulfurization and the primary reformer to the synthesis reactor. The composition of the material flow must therefore always be closely inspected. Any fluctuations would impact on all subsequent stages, and so the consequences for process quality and efficiency would be serious. Exhaust gases from the primary reformer and purge gases from the synthesis stage, and the quality of the natural gas used must also be precisely monitored.

Ammonia synthesis

Ammonia is an important chemical ingredient in the production of fertilizers. High pressures in the range of 250-350 bar and temperatures of around 400-500°C are needed to synthesize it from atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen. The natural gas needed for synthesis accounts for the bulk of the production costs. The individual reaction processes therefore require continuous process monitoring and reliable process gas analyses. To help you run your fertilizer plant safely and efficiently, we offer solutions for pressurizing, process control, maintenance, and system documentation.

Ammonia production

Ammonia is an intermediate product for nitrogen-based fertilizers, as phosphate for phosphate fertilizers. Reformers and heat exchangers are the best technology available in ammonia synthesis. The challenge lies in observing NO_x emission limits and regular energy audits. Process engineering, gas turbines and state-of-the-art process control are the key factors in increasing both the capacity and the energy efficiency of the fertilizer plant. Furthermore, to optimize process conditions, it is essential to have the right measurement technology and analytical equipment.

Urea synthesis

Urea is one of the most commonly produced chemicals. To turn ammonia in urea, however, needs a lot of energy, which can be optimized through process engineering, or the use of heat exchangers or compressors. Efficient energy management is therefore critical. Precise monitoring and analysis of process parameters using measuring devices, software, and process control systems thus forms the basis for transparency, optimization, and benchmarking. Having the right measures in place can reduce environmental impacts caused by unclean process water during urea granulation.

Maintenance concepts for condition-based maintenance: Asset Performance Management

Efficient maintenance concepts with SIMATIC PCS 7 and COMOS MRO

Condition-based maintenance ensures a high plant availability and reduces operating and maintenance cost. SIMATIC PCS 7 and COMOS support you with efficient planning, implementation, and analysis of your maintenance activities.

Automation with SIMATIC PCS 7

Mobile Operations Concept

The Mobile Operations Concept allows distributed monitoring and convenient operation of units and modules while simultaneously ensuring asset performance, and a more efficient process control and management.

Mobile Operations Concept

Process Engineering

Siemens Engineering & Consulting offers services for the early life cycle phases of production plants and laboratory facilities. You profit from our holistic view, our excellent know-how and our professional methods, which we have developed as a result of our long-standing experience.

Engineering Consulting

Products

Services for the Chemical Industry

From plant designs and concepts to retrofits, from the development of new processes to the optimization of existing ones – with a global network of experts and committed employees in more than 190 countries, we can support you anytime and anywhere around the world with process engineers, automation technicians, project managers, or together with IT and industrial partners over the entire lifecycle of your chemical plant.

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Asset Performance Management

Systematic monitoring and maintenance can prolong the lifetime of plant components, improve process safety, and thus greatly increase plant availability. In this way, Asset Performance Management makes an important contribution toward ensuring your systems run smoothly.

Condition Monitoring

Measurement and analytical equipment are part of any fertilizer plant and needed to monitor and optimize the process. We support you as you work toward achieving maximum efficiency during granulation, drying, or cooling.

Drive Technology

Our drive technology is equipped for extreme conditions and furnished with explosion protection and numerous certifications. When integrated into the control system, data from the field becomes valuable information that contributes to the safe control of the entire plant.

Drive Technology

Compressors

The use of state-of-the-art technologies and tried-and-tested compressor units offering a high level of stability, flexible design, and a high efficiency rating is very important in terms of the economic efficiency of the fertilizer plant as a whole.

In complex chemical plants, powerful compressor solutions are needed that are suitable for a wide range of process requirements. You can increase your plant’s efficiency

Compression

Turbines for steam generation

Our steam turbines are used either as a generator drive or as a mechanical drive for pumps and compressors. The modular design used for all steam turbine types ensures a high level of flexibility and availability, and short delivery times.

Steamturbines

Use cases

Products Discover custom-made products and solutions from our comprehensive portfolio for your fertilizer production of the future.

Services for the chemical industry

From plant designs and concepts to retrofits, from the development of new processes to the optimization of existing ones – with our global network of experts, we can support you anytime and anywhere around the world over the entire lifecycle of your chemical plant.

Asset performance management

Condition monitoring

Drive technology

Drive technology

Compressors

In complex chemical plants, powerful compressor solutions are needed that are suitable for a wide range of process requirements. You can increase your plant’s efficiency with state-of-the-art technologies and tried-and-tested compressor units.

Energy compression
Turbine replacement

Steam turbines

Steam turbines
Dresser-Rand turbines

References Whether our job involves equipping a plant for fertilizer production with low or medium voltage or developing technologies for environmentally friendly production, we’re there to help take projects into a successful future all around the world.

Evonik Industries AG, Siemens AG

Germany

Special chemicals made from CO2 and eco-power

Evonik and Siemens begin a joint research project, called Rheticus II, on artificial photosynthesis.
Test facility with bio-reactor and the world's first CO₂ electrolyzer from Siemens.
Using electric energy, CO₂ and water with the help of bacteria produce special chemicals as a storage medium for renewable energy.

Read the press release

Profertil S.A.

Argentina

Customized digital maintenance concept

Higher equipment availability due to service contract for the SGT-600 gas turbine.
FlexLTP (Long Term Service Program) means service without disturbing plant operations and a decrease in maintenance cost of 15 percent.
Extending maintenance intervals by as much as 30 percent results in increased power generation.

Read the success story

K+S KALI GmbH

Germany

Accurate leak detection under difficult conditions

Integrated Automation to safely transport 700,000 m³ of saltwater, with tough demands on the electrotechnical equipment.
SIWA LEAK system based on SIMATIC PCS 7 with safety-based functions for operation, observation and control logic.
Reliable process control with special evaluation algorithm for measured values from the integrated pressure, flow and temperature measurement devices (SITRANS F, P, T).

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We’re happy to help with any questions

Fertilizer plant operation must satisfy the most stringent requirements. Our solid expertise means we can ensure the processes in your plants are high-quality, safe and flexible, as well as being both resource and cost-efficient.

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