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New life for waste ammonia “This is one of the first-ever applications of Ammonia gas is a by-product of many industrial hollow-fibre membranes for the absorption processes and agricultural activity. However, it is a of pollutants from gases.” serious atmospheric pollutant and emission levels have to be controlled. The Agate project is developing a new system – based on hollow-fibre membranes – that not only removes ammonia from waste gases, but also recovers it, thus closing the industrial ammonia cycle and conserving valuable raw materials. The aim of the Co-operative Research is to build a unit that is 99% efficient, and cheaper and easier to run than existing scrubber systems. The sustainable technology promises to compete well with scrubbers: the Agate SMEs hope to capture at least 10% of the €4 billion EU ammonia abatement market within a decade. Ammonia released into the atmosphere is a serious source of environmental pollution. It is known to damage sensitive habitats and cause problems for vegetation, soil and water. It is also one of the causes of acid rain, which can have devastating environmental effects miles away from sources of ammonia emissions. Ammonia is a by-product of many industrial processes, including oil refining, fertiliser production, and food processing. It is usually released into the atmosphere through chimneys with other waste gases. In agriculture, it is produced during manure and slurry processing. The EU National Emission Ceilings Directive includes ammonia in its target emission levels for Member States. These overall levels are translated into national legislation which sets limits on the amount of ammonia individual factories or industrial plants can release with their off-gases. Any site – including large, intensive, cattle, pig and poultry farms – producing ammonia above these limits is compelled to install scrubbers and to reduce the amount of ammonia in emission gases to acceptable levels. However, scrubbers are large and heavy, difficult to scale, and installation is far from straightforward. Operation is also difficult: scrubbers do not cope with large fluctuations in ammonia concentrations, they are sensitive to changes in flow conditions, and require regular cleaning and maintenance. Furthermore, scrubbers are not a sustainable solution to ammonia emissions. By producing a dilute solution that can be flushed into the sewer, they merely transfer the ammonia to the waste-water stream. Such disposal is far from ideal – while huge quantities of ammonia are washed away, thousands of tonnes are produced each day from non-renewable resources. Absorbing research A group of European SMEs has finally decided to close the industrial and agricultural ammonia cycle. Working together within the Agate Co-operative Research project, they want to develop a technology that will both absorb and recover ammonia from waste gas flows. This new technology will be based on hollow-fibre membranes which are already widely used for effluent treatment. Porous membranes are wrapped into a module through which an absorbing agent flows. As the waste gas passes over the membranes, pollutants move through the membrane pores and are carried away by the absorbing solvent on the inside. The low volume of solvent means that high concentrations of pollutants are absorbed, making their recovery possible both technically and financially. The membrane gas absorption (MGA) system will be compact and modular, 98-99% efficient, and will enable the recovery of the absorbed ammonia for conversion into chemicals such as ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate for use as fertiliser. To compete with the well-established scrubber market, the Agate partners aim to produce MGA systems that will be 50% cheaper to run and more reliable than existing equipment. Eight SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the Czech Republic are involved in developing different components (membranes, sensors, filters) and designing the overall MGA unit. They are joined by Acheson Produktie BV, a large chemical company which will field test the prototype end product in its manufacturing plant in the Netherlands. The SMEs are contracting some of the research to three RTD performers. The University of Brno, in the Czech Republic, is involved in membrane Example of hollow-fibre membrane modules. © Cirmac International Apeldoorn AGATE
development, supported by the Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). TNO is also helping with MGA module design and in modelling the dynamics of ammonia transfer across the novel membranes. Finally, Promikron – a Dutch SME – will conduct field tests and technical and economic evaluations of prototype systems. Anticipated demand If the technology proves to be successful, the eight Agate SMEs will form a consortium to market MGA ammonia-recovery systems throughout Europe. Some of the SMEs will manufacture and supply components, while others will produce the end product or sell it within specific industry sectors. German and Dutch SMEs expect to act as a ‘buyers’ for the recovered ammonia compounds which they will collect, store and sell to fertiliser manufacturers. The project partners anticipate a large demand for the Agate system – a demand that is likely to outstrip their own production capacities. However, by licensing the technology to other manufacturers they expect to build a 10% share of the European ammonia abatement market within ten years. With annual sales potentially worth around € 400 million, this new technology offers an exciting business opportunity. And it will help Europe meets its sustainability targets and international commitments to reducing atmospheric pollution. Project title Ammonia Gas Absorption Technology (AGATE) Contract number CT-2004-508178 Duration 24 months Global project cost € 1 467 764 EC contribution € 758 998 Example of prototype hollow-fibre membranes. © Eidos SRO Contact person Mr Ron Keulen Gemini Enterprises Ank van der moerdreef 13 6836 MP Arnhem The Netherlands Tel: +31262360670 Fax: +31263271900 environ@wxs.nl www.gemini-enterprises.org Co-operative Research–1 “This will be a sustainable solution to ammonia emissions and will close the loop in industrial ammonia usage.” Participants 1 Cirmac International BV (NL) 2 Acheson Produktie BV (NL) 3 Aura Metallurgie GmbH (DE) 4 Carltech BV (NL) 5 Constructie en Lasbedrijf Besaris BV (NL) 6 Eidos Spolecnost Rucenim Omzenym SRO (CZ) 7 Gemini Enterprises (NL) 8 Innovative Membrane Technology BV (NL) 9 Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek – TNO (NL) 10 Promikron BV (NL) 11 Vysoke Uceni Technicke V Brne (Brno University of Technology) (CZ) 12 Waterleau Global Water Technology (BE)
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