Ammonia (NH₃) is a crucial intermediary compound in various industries, including fertilizers, chemicals, refrigerants, and energy production. This design proposes a green ammonia plant based on syngas from palm kernel shell (PKS) gasification, which is friendly to the environment due to the carbon emission being categorized as carbon neutral. Green ammonia production with 99.99% purity utilizes 0.87 kg of PKS per kg of ammonia and 1 kg of EFB for utility needs. The plant is planned to operate in 2026 in Kawasan Industri Dumai, Riau, with a green-ammonia production capacity of 300,000 tons per year.

The process involves steamed gasification at 20 bar and 950°C with 229.96 m3/h of oxygen, steam-to-biomass at a 3.0 kg/kg ratio, and syngas purification in four parallel gasifier reactors. An H₂S scrubber column at 10 bar and 40°C ensures catalyst protection for the subsequent water-gas-shift reactor. Using a Girdler (G3-b) catalyst, this reactor operates at 10 bar and 400°C with a 1.75 steam/CO ratio, achieving 88% CO conversion. Hydrogen separation via pressure swing adsorption and subsequent ammonia synthesis in a triple bed reactor operates at 140 bar and 400°C with KM1R catalyst, yielding 49% nitrogen conversion. high-purity product of 99.99% ammonia was achieved after cryogenic separation. The main product is loaded into an ammonia tank in the liquid phase, under atmospheric pressure and temperature -33.4°C.

The plant utilizes 4.86 m³ of cooling, fresh boiler feed, and domestic water per ton of product. The medium-pressure steam is required as 5.15 kg/kg of product at 10 and 20 bar, which powers both the reactant and heating processes. The operational control system requires 0.00273 Nm³ compressed air/kg of product. Powered by a steam turbine (40 MW), the plant consumes 1.56 kWh per kg of green ammonia. For contingencies, a 2 x 15 MW power supply was provided. The proposed plant generates liquid waste containing 0.000024 kg of COD, 0.000005 kg of TSS and 0.0028 kg of NH₃ for every kg of product. It is also identified that the plant emits 1.47 kg CO₂-eq/kg of the product as carbon neutral. It is expected that 0.93 kg of total emission was generated from upstream activity (scope 3), while the rest was emitted as direct emission (scope 1), which is considered CO₂-neutral because of renewable sources. The solid waste as 0.023 kg ash/kg product of gasification operations is a potential raw material for light brick industries. The plant is also supported by a laboratory to control the quality of raw materials, products, and water following the desired specifications. Based on the occupational accident simulation using ALOHA, software adjusted to the desired location data, it was determined that in the event of a 1-inch product unloading leakage, the possibility of a jet fire occurrence extends from a radius of 109 m (42,000 ppm) to 149 m (22,500 ppm) northward from the storage tank. In a similar air pollution scenario resulting from a leakage, a contamination zone (30 ppm) was identified to reach 5.8 km northward from the storage tank.

The company is a limited liability company with a line-and-staff organizational structure. The total workforce is 291 people, consisting of 228 shift employees and 63 non-shift employees.

The economic evaluation shows that this plant requires capital and operating expenditures of about USD 129 million and USD 117 million, respectively. The effort to convert palm kernel shells into ammonia is commercially feasible at a main product price of USD 600 per ton. Through a ten-year plant lifetime, economically, the plant obtains a net present value of USD 104 million, a discounted payback period of 4.32 years, a return on investment of 18.12%, an internal rate of return of 17.31%, a breakeven point of 40.73%, and a shut-down point of 11.36%. In summary, based on the technical, social, environmental, and economic analysis conducted, the green ammonia plant is considered attractive and feasible to establish.