Nitric acid: Feedstocks
Why cheap gas, through ammonia, decides who wins
What this tab covers What it is made from and what it feeds: the raw materials and energy per tonne with their share of cost (linked to the commodity table), who is low-cost and why, and the chemicals made from it.Nitric acid is ammonia plus air, with a precious-metal catalyst. Ammonia is 80-90% of cash cost, so the producers with cheap gas-based or captive ammonia win. Plants rarely sit away from ammonia because ammonia is easier to ship than acid but AN is easiest of all, so integrated sites in the US, Russia, Trinidad and the Gulf export AN while Europe imports ammonia when gas is dear.
Inputs per tonne
| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N Nitrogen (ammonia) | 0.28-0.29 t per t HNO3 (indicative) | nitrogen source | about 80-90% of cash cost (indicative) | Stoichiometry; indicative |
| Gas Natural gas | about 9-10 GJ per t HNO3 embedded in ammonia (indicative, basis: 32 GJ/t NH3) | ammonia feedstock and fuel | the main driver of ammonia cost | Indicative |
| Pt Platinum | losses about 0.1-0.2 g per t, partly recovered by palladium catchment gauze (indicative) | oxidation catalyst | about 2-5% (indicative) | Heraeus; indicative |
| Rh Rhodium | 5-10% of gauze alloy (indicative) | strengthens gauze and raises selectivity | included above | Indicative |
| Pd Palladium | catchment gauze below the platinum pack (indicative) | recovers vaporised platinum | included above | Heraeus (indicative) |
Who is low-cost, and why
Low-cost producers have gas-based ammonia in the US, Russia, Trinidad and the Middle East. European plants buying gas at TTF prices are high cost and import ammonia when gas spikes. Chinese plants on coal-based ammonia sit in the middle but carry higher CO2 per tonne.
Raw materials on the commodity table
N Nitrogen (ammonia)Gas Natural gasWhat it is made into
| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| AN Ammonium nitrate | about three-quarters of nitric acid (indicative) |
| PU Polyurethanes (MDI, TDI, polyols) | via nitrobenzene, aniline and MDI; dinitrotoluene and TDI |
| PA Nylon (PA6, PA66) | adipic acid for nylon 6,6 |
| DAP DAP and MAP | nitrophosphate NPK is an alternative to the sulphuric route |