CONSTRUCTION UPDATE TIME: The Progress of the INITIATE Pilot Plant

The INITIATE pilot is demonstrating industrial symbiosis by coupling carbon-intensive industries like the iron and steel sector and the ammonia and urea sector.

The project aim is to come to a bankable business case for transferring Basic Oxygen Furnace Gas (BOFG) into Ammonia and Urea, which involves a clear definition of the business case, the development of a long-term implementation plan and the validation of the key technologies.

Our project partners TNO and Swerim AB have successfully progressed the reconstruction of parts of the STEPWISE pilot plant (our project’s precursor) towards the INITIATE lay-out at the Luleå SWERIM plant site: BOFG intake, water gas shift  (WGS) for bulk CO conversion, Sorption-enhanced water gas shift (SEWGS) for H2/N2 optimisation and CO2 removal, methanation for residual COx removal and sub-stoichiometric NH3 production.

The image below illustrates the significant progress made by our consortium in constructing the pilot.

The dismantling of the STEPWISE single-column SEWGS lay-out and the construction of the INITIATE multi-column SEWGS installation was contracted to Jernbro, one of Sweden’s leading players in industrial services.

The dismantling of the STEPWISE installation as a first step was completed. The INITIATE WGS and SEWGS reactors and piping are currently under construction, while the foundation is being prepared. Also, the design of the BOFG pipeline is completed, utility systems are commissioned and the NH3 reactor is ordered.