July 2025

Catalysts

Drop-in solutions and digital catalyst insights to enhance the profitability and sustainability of syngas plants

This article details the advancements in the authors’ company’s plus catalyst series of syngas catalysts that improve efficiency, sustainability and profitability in ammonia, methanol and hydrogen production.

IP: 10.3.182.34

The fertilizer industry is experiencing significant challenges, particularly regarding feedstock availability and costs. A new trend in developing decarbonized ammonia as a hydrogen (H2) carrier has led ammonia producers to implement more demanding operating conditions in both new and existing plants.  

Global production capacities are being redistributed, creating two distinct operational scenarios: 

1. Some plants must minimize their load or reduce energy consumption to remain competitive 
2. Others must maximize production, optimizing every aspect of their existing capacity. 

While modifying production schemes could address these challenges, such changes require substantial investment and time for equipment manufacture and installation. Many facilities cannot afford these resources when rapid adaptation is necessary. 

In this context, catalysts have become increasingly critical enablers of quick adaptation. The correct catalyst selection can help achieve various goals, from reducing energy consumption at low loads to increasing production at maximum capacity. Success in this area depends heavily on the catalyst manufacturer’s innovation capabilities and research and development (R&D) investments. 

A prime example of this can be seen in blue ammonia production. This process, which often uses low steam-to-gas ratios for better energy efficiency, tends to generate higher levels of methanol byproducts. These challenging conditions highlight why innovation in catalyst development is crucial, particularly in enhancing physical strength, thermal stability and suppression of methanol formation in low temperature shift (LTS) catalysts to maintain optimal performance. 

The triple plus: Next-generation syngas catalysts for increased efficiency. The authors’ company’s position in catalyst innovation stems from its customer-centric approach and R&D investments. This commitment is particularly evident in the ammonia production sector, where, despite its mature and well-researched nature, the authors’ company continues to break new ground. 

The recent introduction of the catalyst Plus series^a–c demonstrates the organization’s innovative capabilities in this highly complex chemical process. These catalysts are used for primary and secondary reformers for LTS and ammonia synthesis.  

These developments show that even in well-established processes, meaningful innovation can be achieved when backed by consistent R&D investment and a deep understanding of customer needs. 

Proprietary catalysts for primary and secondary reformers. Steam methane reforming (SMR) is a crucial step in converting hydrocarbon feedstock into syngas, where H2 production takes place. This highly endothermic process occurs in a steam reformer containing catalyst-filled tubes.  

The process characteristics include a substantial heat input requirement through fuel combustion. SMR performance directly impacts feed utilization efficiency, determines the plant’s production capacity limits and overall plant energy efficiency, and is the primary source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in syngas production. 

Optimal and reliable SMR operation is essential to achieve various plant objectives, including: 

• Minimizing energy consumption 

• Reducing feedstock usage 

• Maximizing production output 

• Lowering CO2 emissions 

• Extending operational runtime between turnarounds (TARs). 

Success in any combination of these goals depends directly on the SMR’s performance and stability. The efficient operation of an SMR serves as the foundation for meeting plant targets and maintaining operational excellence.  

The authors’ company’s newly developed steam reforming catalyst^a Plus series has helped numerous producers meet their production goals, as demonstrated in the following examples.   

This innovative catalyst builds upon the highly successful steam reforming catalyst^a 210/330 low-pressure drop (LDP) formulation, which has demonstrated outstanding activity and has been proven in hundreds of applications since its market introduction > 25 yr ago. The catalyst's chemistry features a nickel-based composition on a calcium aluminate carrier. This base formulation provides exceptional mechanical strength, enabling the catalyst to withstand challenging conditions, including sulfur poisoning and subsequent steam regeneration procedures, as detailed in Case Study 1. 

Case Study 1: Avoiding premature primary reformer catalyst replacement. An ammonia producer in Europe was faced with an unexpected issue involving damage to one of its desulfurization vessels. It was not possible to shut down the plant for the repair work, as a stringent production target had to be met. A combination of the authors’ company’s steam reforming 210/330 catalyst^a was loaded in the plant’s SMR and had been in operation for 5 yr at the time of the problem. However, the TAR was not scheduled until the following year, so the customer wanted to avoid the early replacement of the primary reformer’s catalyst and run it until the next TAR. Therefore, the plant continued to produce ammonia by feeding unpurified feed directly onto the 5-yr-old SMR catalyst. 

After only 3 mos, an increase in the approach to equilibrium (ATE) was observed—this was due to sulfur poisoning. The authors’ company’s technical service team closely monitored the catalyst's performance daily using its proprietary digital platform^d to provide the customer with immediate recommendations and comments on the operating conditions to minimize any potential impact on the performance of the steam reforming catalyst. An immediate remedy to the poisoning impact on the catalyst was partially counteracted by increasing the steam-to-carbon (S/C) ratio in the SMR.  

After the desulfurization section was recommissioned, it was decided to steam the 210/330 catalyst^a to remove the sulfur. Steaming was carried out in accordance with the authors’ company’s instructions. As shown FIG. 1, the resulting ATE returned to its previous value after steaming.  

FIG. 1. The ATE of the primary reforming catalyst^a. 

The resilience of the catalyst after poisoning and steaming prevented premature catalyst replacement and enabled the expected life of 6 yr to be met, resulting in overall savings in the price of the new catalyst charge and associated shutdown costs.  

Case Study 2: New shape of the primary reforming catalyst ensures additional energy savings. An ammonia producer in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region aimed to maintain operations near its 2,000-metric tpd design capacity for an extended period. Their key objectives were to sustain maximum production capacity, minimize energy consumption, increase profit margins and avoid major capital investment. 

Plant management was particularly interested in solutions that could deliver even minor energy savings without requiring costly equipment modifications. This approach would allow them to optimize profitability while maintaining their existing infrastructure. 

The authors’ company offered a newly developed and innovative SMR 330 catalyst^a, featuring an eight-hole flower shape (FIG. 2). This advanced shape allows a significant reduction in pressure drop across the SMR and enhances heat transfer capabilities while maintaining optimal catalyst activity as defined primarily by the geometrical surface area. 

FIG. 2. The eight-hole floral shape of authors’ company’s newly developed steam reforming 330 catalyst^a enhances void fraction.  

After startup, the new catalyst confirmed all the expected benefits. The 330 catalyst^a provided a stable pressure drop improvement of 0.4 bar, which is approximately 20% lower than the previous catalyst (FIG. 3). At the same time, the plant managed to increase the ammonia production rate from an average of 1,950 metric tpd up to 2,025 metric tpd.  

FIG. 3. Lower pressure drop across the SMR with the authors’ company’s 330 catalyst^a. 

In addition to the above achievements, a tube wall temperature survey showed 20°C–25°C lower temperatures and an overall more uniform temperature profile, confirming an improved heat transfer and catalyst performance. 

In summary, the lower pressure drop, higher ammonia production and lower tube wall temperatures provided the customer with additional energy savings and additional profit for the cost of approximately just one charge of the innovative primary reforming catalyst.  

Optimizing operations with a LTS catalyst. The authors’ company’s copper/zinc-based LTS catalyst^b is crucial in plant energy efficiency and economic performance. A high-quality LTS catalyst must demonstrate superior activity, stability and resilience against common operational challenges such as sulfur and chloride poisoning, condensation and temperature fluctuations. 

In ammonia production, enhanced LTS catalyst performance directly impacts profitability. The catalyst^b reduces the inert concentration in the ammonia synthesis loop, minimizing purge gas losses and optimizing energy efficiency. Notably, a 0.1% improvement in carbon monoxide (CO) conversion through LTS translates to approximately 1% additional ammonia output, particularly in facilities without purge gas recovery systems. 

Two critical operational aspects require attention: mechanical strength and methanol by-production. When operating above design capacity, even minimal pressure drops of 0.1 bar across catalyst beds or equipment parts will affect energy consumption. LTS operations are particularly susceptible to pressure drop increases due to the risk of steam condensation at lower inlet temperatures or the need for additional steam to facilitate the shift reaction. 

The formation of methanol as a byproduct presents another significant challenge. This side reaction consumes valuable H2, reducing yield and energy efficiency while creating environmental concerns through volatile organic compound (VOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) emissions. Each ton of methanol produced results in a loss of 1.1 tons of ammonia—a significant impact on plants striving to maximize feedstock efficiency. 

The authors’ company’s established 217 LTS catalyst has demonstrated great performance since 2010, serving > 60 global customers. It offers superior crush strength in both oxide and reduced states, high activity and selective conversion at low temperatures while minimizing methanol formation. 

Building on this success, the authors’ company developed a next-generation LTS catalyst technology. This advanced 217 LTS Plus catalyst^b maintains the high activity of its predecessor while introducing two key improvements: ultra-low methanol formation and enhanced physical strength. Through an optimized production process, the advanced 217 LTS Plus catalyst^b achieves more uniform distribution of active metals and promoters within the catalyst matrix, resulting in superior selectivity and reduced byproduct formation. 

Case Study 3: 50% lower methanol in CO2 offgas. An ammonia producer in Europe has very strict regulatory limits for VOC emissions, with significant penalties for non-compliance. 

In 2018, the producer installed the previous generation of the authors’ company’s low-methanol catalyst (i.e., 217 LTS catalyst), which greatly helped decrease methanol formation and meet the regulatory limits. However, during the initial operating period, the average methanol formation still exceeded the regulatory limits due to the catalyst’s high activity. 

This challenge is common in LTS catalyst operations. It is well known that even with the low-methanol-type of catalyst, the greatest amount of methanol is formed in the start-of-run (SOR) phase because the activity of the fresh catalyst is high for both reactions during this period of the catalyst’s life—the targeted shift reaction and the byproduct methanol synthesis reaction. As a result, this ammonia producer was still experiencing issues with exceeding regulatory limits even after installing fresh low-methanol catalysts.    

In 2022, seeking a solution to these SOR challenges, the producer opted for the authors’ company’s next-generation 217 LTS Plus catalyst^b. The timing coincided with escalating energy costs, making the catalyst's ability to minimize H2 losses through reduced methanol formation particularly attractive for improving plant economics and increasing ammonia production.     

The results proved remarkable. As shown in FIG. 4, the next-generation 217 LTS Plus catalyst^b achieved > 50% reduction in methanol concentration in the CO2 knockout drum during the SOR phase compared to its predecessor operating under similar conditions. This significant improvement enabled easy compliance with regulatory limits, eliminating the risk of penalties. Additionally, the next-generation 217 LTS Plus catalyst^b demonstrated exceptional performance at equilibrium, even at low inlet temperatures < 200°C.  

FIG. 4. Methanol production of the next-generation 217 LTS Plus catalyst^b measured in CO2 offgas. 

FIG. 5. Increased activity of the new ammonia synthesis 10 Plus catalyst^c vs. its predecessor. 

A novel ammonia synthesis catalyst. The ammonia synthesis process presents a complex balance between pressure and energy efficiency—while higher pressure favors the reaction kinetics, it significantly increases energy consumption and operational costs. Technology licensors continuously strive to optimize this balance, with catalysts playing a pivotal role in achieving energy-efficient solutions.   

In 2002, the authors’ company pioneered a distinctive approach by developing wustite-based catalysts, diverging from the industry-standard magnetite-based catalysts still used by other manufacturers. This led to the development of a new series of catalysts^e, which are known for its exceptional robustness and activity. The latest ammonia synthesis catalyst (10 Plus^c) demonstrates superior performance and notably higher tolerance to oxygenates than conventional magnetite catalysts—a crucial advantage in today’s operations. 

Case Study 4: Increase in overall plant efficiency by decreasing loop pressure. A European fertilizer producer, while achieving fully satisfactory performance with the authors’ company’s ammonia synthesis 10 catalyst at design load, faced steam distribution challenges. Insufficient steam export to neighboring units necessitated additional steam production through an auxiliary boiler, resulting in increased natural gas consumption and CO2 emissions. The plant's ammonia loop, powered by a steam-driven recirculating compressor, presented an opportunity for optimization: reducing loop pressure while maintaining ammonia production could decrease steam consumption in the compressor turbine, enabling greater steam export and improving overall plant energy efficiency. 

While equipment modifications or revamps are not within the authors’ company’s scope as a catalyst manufacturer, the focus was on catalyst innovation to address these operational challenges. This led to the development of the new ammonia synthesis 10 Plus catalyst^c. Launched in 2021, the ammonia synthesis 10 Plus catalyst^c offers enhanced activity and improved poison resistance compared to its predecessor.  

This catalyst^c was offered to the above ammonia producer for a scheduled replacement of the previous charge, highlighting possible benefits that the producer can achieve by using the new catalyst type, such as reduced pressure in the loop and consequently decreased steam consumption by the compressor turbine, allowing the export of more steam outside the ammonia unit.  

The implementation of the new ammonia synthesis 10 Plus catalyst^c in 2021 delivered immediate benefits: 

• Achieved identical ammonia production at 6 bar lower synthesis loop pressure, and consequently decreased steam consumption by the compressor turbine, allowing the export of more steam outside the ammonia unit. 

• Reached an exceptional converter outlet ammonia concentration of 19 mol% 

• Demonstrated approximately 24% higher average activity compared to the previous catalyst.  

The catalyst maintains its SOR activity level, confirming its excellent stability and performance reliability. This successful implementation demonstrates how advanced catalyst technology can address complex operational challenges while improving plant efficiency without major equipment modifications. 

Digital expert support. If there is an annual competition for the word of the year in the fertilizing industry, the word for 2024 would have been “digitalization.” There are many efforts underway throughout the world to bring value to using all the advantages of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in the operation of syngas chemical plants.  

The authors’ company’s proprietary digital platform^d helps producers to evaluate, optimize and improve the performance of their catalysts. The platform^d is based on machine-learning (ML) algorithms combined with internal kinetic models and has a web-based interface that ensures easy access to the plant’s data and the authors’ company’s applied catalyst technology (ACT) engineers’ comments, evaluations and recommendations for optimizing the catalysts operation. Moreover, the tool is available 24/7. 

This tool is a further step to help fertilizer producers optimize the performance of their plants in terms of production, reliability or energy consumption, with fast and accurate support from skilled engineers.  

The proprietary digital platformd has the following basic functions (FIG. 6): 

• Collection and storage of the process data 

• Sorting and arrangement of the data  

• Analyzing the data 

• Visualization of the data  

• Additional calculations and soft sensors for clearer explanation of the data 

• A communication platform with ACT engineers on the evaluation and optimization of the data. 

FIG. 6. The main functions of the digital platform^d. 

These benefits help lead to clear and concrete actions or decisions on optimizing the plant’s performance. 

Since the digital platform^d was introduced to the market in 2023, > 150 plants have been onboarded to the platform, taking advantage of the digitalization's benefits.  

Case Study 5: Using the digital platform^d for better calculating remaining lifetime. An ammonia producer in North America approached the authors’ company with a typical request to calculate the remaining lifetime of its zinc oxide adsorbent based on the data in the digital platform^d.  

Typically, each customer using one of the authors’ company’s catalyst receives four catalyst performance evaluation reports per year based on a questionnaire with process data from the customer. Therefore, if this customer was not onboarded to the digital platformd from the time the adsorbent was installed before the above request, the ACT engineer would have five sets of process data, which could be used to evaluate the remaining life (TABLE 1).  

The remaining life can be calculated according to the following guidelines:  

• Determine the amount of sulfur accompanying the natural gas entering the plant  

• Extrapolate the above amount until the next data set 

• Sum up all the above amounts of sulfur 

• Knowing the sulfur capacity and volume of the installed adsorbent, calculate the maximum possible amount of sulfur the installed adsorbent can collect 

• Compare the actual total amount of sulfur with the possible maximum capacity. 

Based on the above approach, the remaining lifetime would be estimated to be < 1 yr. As the TAR was scheduled for a longer period, the customer would have to decide whether to reschedule the TAR period or continue to operate the plant with the risk of sulfur leakage from the desulfurization section. 

However, this customer was onboarded to the digital platformd, which means that daily data on sulfur content and natural gas flow are available on the digital platform (FIG. 7). 

FIG. 7. Daily process data on the digital platform^d. 

Therefore, it is possible to more accurately calculate the amount of sulfur picked up by the installed adsorbent and to evaluate its remaining lifetime. Using the data on the digital platform^d, the remaining life of the absorbent was > 1 yr, which fits within the scheduled TAR and allows the owner to better prepare to replace the current absorbent.   

Additionally, the digital platform^d contains several calculated variables (soft sensors) based on the other connected measured variables, which allow plant engineers and ACT engineers to receive a better overview of the catalysts' performance status in almost online mode (depending on the frequency of the data upload by a customer) (FIG. 8). 

FIG. 8. Additional calculated variables can be monitored together with the measured variables. 

Takeaway. The advancements presented in the authors’ company’s plus catalyst series^a–c of syngas catalysts demonstrate the company’s commitment to improving efficiency, sustainability and profitability in ammonia, methanol and H2 production. These innovations address critical industry challenges by enhancing catalyst durability, reducing emissions and optimizing energy consumption. The case studies demonstrate how these solutions have enabled global producers to achieve substantial operational and financial benefits without requiring major infrastructure modifications.  

Furthermore, the authors’ company’s digital platform^d exemplifies the integration of AI and ML in industrial operations, offering real-time insights that enhance plant performance and decision-making. These developments underline the importance of continuous R&D and customer-centric innovation in tackling evolving industry demands.  

As the industry moves toward decarbonization and greater efficiency, the authors’ company’s solutions continue to set a benchmark for excellence. The company’s focus on enabling rapid adaptation positions it as a pivotal partner for producers navigating the complex dynamics of modern syngas production.  

NOTES  

a Clariant’s ReforMax 210/330 LDP Plus catalyst 

b Clariant’s ShiftMax 217 and 217 Plus catalysts 

c Clariant’s AmoMax 10 Plus catalyst 

d Clariant’s CLARITY™ 

e Clariant’s AmoMax series of catalysts 

The Authors

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