pressure systems involving hydrogen, losses meant money, the risk of
explosion, and stoppages. The form of the ammonia synthesis Bosch was
developing was particularly dependent on continuous smooth running. Any
stoppage would affect the whole plant and take hours to get back to normal,
which in turn determined whether the process is economical. After years of
trials Bosch eventually developed 3000 horse power compression units capable of functioning reliably without stopping for six months, after which they
received their regular periodic clean. The same effort saw the development of
large piston and rotary gas circulation pumps that operated reliably at
200 atm.
1
The valves too presented a significant technical problem. In the Haber-Le
Rossignol apparatus, Robert’s valves had only one purpose, viz, to finely
control the passage of high-pressure gas through the apparatus, standard
‘check valves’ being used to ensure the directional consistency of the gas. The
industrialisation of the process however led to a large system of functional
units interconnected by thousands of metres of flanged tubing with valves,
that in addition to controlling gas flow, also had to permit the isolation and
rapid de-pressurisation of parts of the plant in the event of rupture or stoppage. At least three types of valve were designed
1 ; the ‘quick acting’ valve,
which rapidly energised in the event of a tube breakage, the ‘self closing’
valve, automatically using the gas flow to seal off one side or another of the
tube when the gas flow becomes too high due to tube rupture, and the ‘slide
valve’, which was essentially a ‘needle valve’ that rapidly closed and permitted
a release of pressure. Needle valves of course were modelled on Robert’s
original patent of 1907.
14
11.5 The First Ammonia Plant at Oppau
With the decision to build the new plant made in November 1911, the actual
construction began on 07 May 1912. The main BASF site at Ludwigshafen
had insufficient space for what—because of the huge volumes of gas involved
—was anticipated to be a somewhat sprawling development. A new 500,000
square metre site was chosen just north of Ludwigshafen between the village
of Oppau and the river Rhine. The plant was to be completely integrated,
receiving deliveries of coal and coke, generating ‘water’ and ‘coke-oven’ gases,
purifying, enriching, and pressurising the synthesis gas, generating the
ammonia, capturing it using the water scrubbers,
15 forming the sulfate by
reaction with sulfuric acid, storing it, and accommodating the rail network for
supply and distribution. Because most of the technical problems had already
11 From Karlsruhe to Oppau
219
explosion, and stoppages. The form of the ammonia synthesis Bosch was
developing was particularly dependent on continuous smooth running. Any
stoppage would affect the whole plant and take hours to get back to normal,
which in turn determined whether the process is economical. After years of
trials Bosch eventually developed 3000 horse power compression units capable of functioning reliably without stopping for six months, after which they
received their regular periodic clean. The same effort saw the development of
large piston and rotary gas circulation pumps that operated reliably at
200 atm.
1
The valves too presented a significant technical problem. In the Haber-Le
Rossignol apparatus, Robert’s valves had only one purpose, viz, to finely
control the passage of high-pressure gas through the apparatus, standard
‘check valves’ being used to ensure the directional consistency of the gas. The
industrialisation of the process however led to a large system of functional
units interconnected by thousands of metres of flanged tubing with valves,
that in addition to controlling gas flow, also had to permit the isolation and
rapid de-pressurisation of parts of the plant in the event of rupture or stoppage. At least three types of valve were designed
1 ; the ‘quick acting’ valve,
which rapidly energised in the event of a tube breakage, the ‘self closing’
valve, automatically using the gas flow to seal off one side or another of the
tube when the gas flow becomes too high due to tube rupture, and the ‘slide
valve’, which was essentially a ‘needle valve’ that rapidly closed and permitted
a release of pressure. Needle valves of course were modelled on Robert’s
original patent of 1907.
14
11.5 The First Ammonia Plant at Oppau
With the decision to build the new plant made in November 1911, the actual
construction began on 07 May 1912. The main BASF site at Ludwigshafen
had insufficient space for what—because of the huge volumes of gas involved
—was anticipated to be a somewhat sprawling development. A new 500,000
square metre site was chosen just north of Ludwigshafen between the village
of Oppau and the river Rhine. The plant was to be completely integrated,
receiving deliveries of coal and coke, generating ‘water’ and ‘coke-oven’ gases,
purifying, enriching, and pressurising the synthesis gas, generating the
ammonia, capturing it using the water scrubbers,
15 forming the sulfate by
reaction with sulfuric acid, storing it, and accommodating the rail network for
supply and distribution. Because most of the technical problems had already
11 From Karlsruhe to Oppau
219