Nitric Acid

• Technologies
• Mono Pressure Process
• Dual Pressure Process
• Realized Projects

Nitric acid — colourless or yellowish liquid. Able to mix with water in any proportion. Nitric acid is powerful oxidant. Metals (exept Pt, Rh, Ir, Nb, Zr, Та, Аu) transform into nitrates or oxides under the influence of nitric acid, sulfur oxidizes intensively and turns into sulfuric acid, phosphorus turns into phosphoric acid, organic compounds oxidize and nitrate.

Nitric acid production meets danger of explosion, because of usage of combustible and explosive substances — NH and natural gas. 

Application

• manufacture of nitric and compound fertilizers
• manufacture of sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate in hydrometallurgy
• manufacture of explosive matters 
• manufacture of sulfuric and phosphoric acid
• acquisition of fragrant nitro compounds
• manufacture colouring matter
• component product of rocket fuel
• etching and solution of metals in metallurgy 
• etching of semiconducting materials 

Mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids(in volume 1:3) is called aqua regis, it may dissolve even noble metals. 

Nitric acid of 50-70% concentration is widely used in production of fertilizers.

There are two types of possible design of 60% nitric acid plants: mono pressure units, and dual pressure units.

As for plants with total capacity about 1000 tons per day mono pressure process is the most preferable because of economic and operational conditions; as for powerful units with total capacity more than 1000 tons per day dual pressure process is better to cut capital expenditure.