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100 Years of Ammonia Synthesis Technology: Ib Dybkjær
100 Years of Ammonia Synthesis Technology: Ib Dybkjær
Technology
This paper is a review of 100 years of development of an important industry – the synthesis of ammo-
nia from synthesis gas comprising nitrogen and hydrogen. In this development the name Topsøe is
important, and the year 2013 incidentally marks the 100th birthday of Dr. Haldor Topsøe, who as a
person has contributed significantly to the on-going development of this industry over more than 70
years.
The paper starts with a short review of the early development from Haber-Bosch to around 1960.
Thereafter follows a discussion of important recent developments in the following three areas: am-
monia synthesis catalysts, ammonia synthesis converter design, and ammonia synthesis process con-
cepts.
Ib Dybkjær
Haldor Topsøe A/S
I
n the year 1913 a lot of important events
took place. While true for every year and facility was also the first high pressure catalytic
for every perspective, from the perspective unit ever constructed. The plant was based on
of our industry, the ammonia industry, 1913 the invention of the ammonia synthesis reaction
was truly remarkable. Three events are espe- by Fritz Haber, the identification of the most
cially noteworthy. suitable catalyst by Alwin Mittasch, and the pi-
oneering engineering developments by Carl
The Danish physicist Niels Bohr published a se- Bosch. This event has been described as "Deto-
ries of 3 papers entitled, "On the Constitution of nation of the Population Explosion" (2), which
Atoms and Molecules" (1). This work laid, to- through application of synthetic fertilizers for
gether with work by others, the foundation for food production, facilitated the growth in the
quantum mechanics and thus for the tremendous number of human beings on Earth from about
development in physics and chemistry. Today one billion in 1900 to about seven billion in
this development allows us to understand on the 2000. It has been stated that a world without
atomic scale complex phenomena such as cata- synthetic fertilizers would only sustain a world
lytic reactions between gases adsorbed on solid population of about four billion (3).
surfaces.