Ammonia - Uses, Prices, and Production

With this blog, I plan to begin a series of blogs providing use, price, and production data on high use basic inorganic and high use basic organic chemicals, including many of the following:

Basic inorganic chemicals	Basic organic chemicals
Ammonia	Benzene and methylbenzenes
Bromine	Buta-1,3-diene
Calcium carbonate	Epoxyethane (Ethylene oxide)
Chlorine	Ethane-1,2-diol (Ethylene glycol)
Fluorine	Ethanoic acid (Acetic acid)
Hydrogen	Ethanol
Hydrogen chloride	Ethene (Ethylene)
Hydrogen fluoride	Formaldehyde
Hydrogen peroxide	Methanol
Iodine	Methyl tertiary-butyl ether
Nitric acid	Phenol
Oxygen, nitrogen and the rare gases	Propanone (Acetone)
Phosphoric acid	Propene (Propylene)
Phosphorus	Urea
Sodium carbonate
Sodium hydroxide
Sulfur
Sulfuric acid
Titanium dioxide

I begin with ammonia.  Data has been found researching the Internet.

Uses.   Ammonia has been used for over a hundred years as a fertilizer.  Greater than 80% of ammonia use is as a fertilizer.  Other uses include:

Ø  As a refrigerant in large-scale industrial coolers;

Ø  As raw material combined with other materials in producing plastics, fibers, explosives, dyes, pharmaceuticals, nitric acid, formaldehyde, amines, and nitriles;

Ø  In metal extraction;

Ø  In pollution abatement;

Ø  In rubber and leather manufacturing;

Ø  In pulp and paper manufacturing;

Ø  As a disinfectant; and

Ø  As a fuel.

Largest ammonia users are China (~33%); Russia (~8%); India (~8%); and the United States

(~6%).

The use of “green” ammonia as a fuel (see below under production about green ammonia production) is gaining momentum.  For example, the ocean shipping industry has initiatives for developing engines using green ammonia.  Also, Japan and other Asian countries have programs for developing hydrogen use as a fuel with green ammonia being the source of the hydrogen.  The green ammonia would be produced in countries with high concentrations of wind and solar energies and then transported to countries without lots of wind and solar energy, such as Japan. 

Prices.   The average 2019 global ammonia price is estimated to in the $300 per metric ton (mt) range.  Prices could be substantially higher or lower depending on the region and month.

Production.   Most 2019 production estimates are in the 170 to 180 million mt range.  A $300 per mt price would give revenues of $51 billion to $54 billion from ammonia sales (170 or 180 million mt times $300 per mt).  Most ammonia is produced starting with natural gas, naphtha, or coal as a raw material, from which hydrogen is produced.  Then nitrogen, which is separated out from air, is reacted with the hydrogen using the Haber-Bosch Process to produce ammonia.  About 50% of the cost of producing ammonia comes from the price of natural gas, naphtha, or coal.   This production method unfortunately is responsible for about 1 to 1.5% of total global carbon dioxide emissions.  Another ammonia production method with emerging interest is producing hydrogen, not from natural gas, naphtha, or coal, but from water using electrolysis and renewable energy (e.g., wind or solar).  Ammonia produced by this method is referred to as green ammonia.  An important incentive for this ammonia production method is greatly reduced carbon dioxide emissions.  Several companies are major producers of ammonia.  These include: Yara; BASF; CF Industries; Koch Industries; and OCI NV.