Nitric Acid Plant

There are total 03 lines of Nitric Acid plant at PFL.

• Two identical lines named as "The New Nitric Acid plant" the capacity of each is 600 metric tons per day HNO3, (Total for 02 lines = 1200 MT/Day). The New Nitric Acid Plant is designed by UHDE Germany and is commissioned in 1979.
• This is Ostwald's medium pressure process.

Third line is, Old Nitric Acid plant, the capacity is 180 MT/Day.

• The Old Nitric Acid Plant is designed by GIRDLER USA and is commissioned in 1959.
•  This is high pressure process.

The liquid ammonia is vaporized and heated before it is mixed with filtered air. The ammonia air mixture is filtered and fed into the ammonia burner in which the ammonia is oxidized in the presence of a Catalyst, Platinum (Pt) 90% and Rhodium (Rh) 10% as layers of silk fine gauzes.

The burner product gas containing nitrous oxides is cooled through waste heat boiler and other heat exchangers. The cooled process gas is fed into the absorption towers, in which the nitrous oxides are absorbed in process water to produce Nitric Acid, having concentration in between 57 ~ 60 %.