New and Old in the Ammonia World

Ammonia production is vital for future sustainability, in areas from agriculture, to alternative energy. Yet clean, effective and safe storage and transport of ammonia is critical. In November 2017, a confluence of global experts will gather at Technion to address present challenges and future needs.

On November 15-16, a conference on “New and Old in the Ammonia World” will take place at the Technion. The event is hosted by Technion president, Peretz Lavie, and organized and chaired by the Technion Chemical Engineering professors Gideon Grader and Danny Lewin. Global experts will cover topics that include: safety and risk assessment; ammonia transport in the atmosphere; ammonia production; and the global market. The conference includes a virtual reality 3D presentation of an ammonia production plant developed by the German company Linde.

Modern agriculture would be impossible without ammonia, which increases yields by hundreds of percent, as it is a fundamental source of nitrogen. About 90 percent of ammonia produced today is for crop fertilization. The conference will address the important topics of ammonia import and storage, featuring five international experts in the field.

• Prof. Thomas Spicer, Head of the Chemical Hazards Research Center (CHRC) at the University of Arkansas – on the safe storage and risk assessment of ammonia
• Norman Olson, Director of the Iowa Energy Center (IEC) – on the effective use of ammonia for propulsion, fertilizer, and energy storage
• Balan Karthikeyan of Madras, India – A global expert on HAZOP analysis and process safety in chemical plants.
• Robert Tikovsky of Linde, Germany – on the safe and effective design of ammonia plants
• Kent Anderson, USA – and expert on ammonia accidents and former president of the Ammonia Refrigeration Association

For the full conference program click here.