IHI Corporation and subsidiary IHI Plant Services Corporation today announced that they have provided ammonia single-fuel burners and installed facilities for an ammonia combustion demonstration that Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., undertook at a commercial naphtha cracking furnace at its Tokuyama Complex in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, from February 6 through 8. Such furnaces operate at high temperatures to crack naphtha and produce ethylene and propylene that serve as basic raw materials for petrochemical products. This world-class technological achievement is the fruit of IHI’s combustion technology and Idemitsu’s operational expertise.

The demonstration was part of a collaboration between IHI and Idemitsu to establish an ammonia supply chain at the complex. IHI developed and supplied the ammonia burners, demonstrating for the first time in Japan that it is possible to switch to ammonia for 20% of the fuel used in a naphtha cracking furnace. IHI Plant Services installed ammonia storage tanks, piping, and other intermediate supply facilities for the furnace. Drawing on careful guidance from Idemitsu based on its operational expertise, this effort employing advanced technology from IHI was a first in Japan and proved a great success.

IHI began developing an ammonia burner for naphtha cracking furnaces in 2021. It assessed the combustion performances of several prototype burners at a one-megawatt thermal basic combustion test furnace at the Aioi Works in Hyogo Prefecture. The company chose the best design and confirmed that it met all performance requirements, including emissions limits for nitrogen oxide and unburned ammonia.

Testing confirmed that there were no environmental performance issues. Combustion adjustments reduced nitrogen oxide emissions from exhaust gases to below permissible limits, with no detection of unburned ammonia. IHI aims to deploy its burner at other naphtha cracking furnaces to help decarbonize the economy by expanding the use of ammonia as a fuel. It also plans to leverage technical expertise from this demonstration to enhance other industrial furnaces and burners.

The IHI Group aims to make its entire value chain carbon-neutral by 2050 by helping to create society in which technology and society are in harmony. It is accordingly providing a range of customized solutions, including ammonia combustion technology for power generation facilities and industrial furnaces.

Related press release
June 25, 2021 – IHI and Idemitsu to Jointly Explore Establishing Ammonia Supply Chain
https://www.ihi.co.jp/en/all_news/2021/resources_energy_environment/1197480_3360.html

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