Nitrat de Amonio

19
B U R R U P N I T R A T E S P T Y L T D
TechnicalAmmoniumNitrateProductionFacility
PublicEnvironmentalReviewJanuary2010
5 ProjectDescription
This chapter provides a detailed description of the various
elements of the Technical Ammonium Nitrate Production
Facility (TANPF) Project to assist in evaluating the associated
potential environmental impacts. The TANPF Project
descriptionisbasedonBurrupNitratesPtyLtd(BNPL)sproject
concept study. The Engineering, Procurement and Construction
(EPC) Contractor has not yet been determined, and as such,
certaindetailsofengineering,designandconstructionareyetto
be finalised. Despite this, the design is sufficiently developed to
allow for the assessment of potential environmental impacts
associatedwiththeTANPFProject.
5.1 ProjectOverview
BNPL is proposing to construct a TANPF with a production
capacity of (circa) 350,000 TPA or 915 MTPD of technical
ammonium nitrate (TAN). TAN will be delivered principally to
mining customers in the Pilbara, to help make up the basic
component of ANFO (ammonium nitratefuel oil) used for
explosives.
The TANPF will be located at Site D in the King Bay/Hearson

CoveIndustrialPrecinctontheBurrupPeninsula,approximately
13km northwest of Karratha (the Site), see Figure1.1 and
Figure4.2. This Precinct lies within the greater Burrup
IndustrialEstate(BIE),wheretheWAGovernmenthasallocated
about1,400Haofstrategicheavy industrial land to prospective
tenants.
TheSiteisapproximately79Hainsizeandislocatedadjacentto
the existing Burrup Fertilisers Pty Ltd (BFPL) ammonia plant,
with site access from Village Road, Burrup Peninsula. The
choice of location for the proposed TANPF enables significant
sharing of services and utilities between BFPL and BNPL. This
willreduceenvironmentalimpactsbyallowingasmallerproject
footprint (eg. independent ammonia storage, transport and
supply) and permitting the incorporation of technical and
designefficiencies.ThemainfeedstockfortheproposedTANPF
is liquid ammonia, which will be transferred via pipeline from
theBFPLplant.
TheproposedTANPFwillrequireabout35Haofthe79HaSite.
The TANPF will contain three major process units, each
producingaseparateproductinthemanufacturingprocess:
a Nitric Acid (NA) plant to convert ammonia and
atmosphericairintoNA;
an Ammonium Nitrate (AN) Solution plant to convert
ammoniaandNAintoANsolution;and
a TAN plant to convert AN solution into TAN prills (final
product).
The key characteristics of the TANPF Project are outlined in
Table5.1. The boundary locations of the Site are presented in
Table5.2andTable5.3.
Table5.1 KeyCharacteristicsoftheTANPF
Criteria KeyCharacteristicsoftheTANPF
ProjectPurpose ToproduceTANfromammoniausingadvanced
productiontechnologyforsaletomostlylocal
markets
ProjectLife 20+years
ConstructionPeriod Approximately30months
ProjectValue ApproximatelyUS$600million
TANPFCapacity 350,000TPA
AreaofProjectLease 79Ha(SiteD)
AreaofDisturbance 35Ha
PlantFacilities MainProcessUnits
NitricAcid(NA)Plant
AmmoniumNitrate(AN)SolutionPlant
TechnicalAmmoniumNitrate(TAN)Prilling
Plant
Storage,LoadingandTransportFacilities
LiquidAmmoniapipelinebetweenBFPLand
BNPLplants
BaggedTANstoragebuilding
BulkTANstoragebuilding
TANBaggingfacility
Truckbulkloadingsystem
Nitricacidbufferstorage
Ammoniumnitratesolutionstorage
OtherFacilities
SeaWaterCoolingTower
ClosedLoopWaterCoolingSystem
Wastewaterhandlingfacility
ElectricalPowerdistributionsystem
Instrumentandplantairsystem
Controlroom
Steamgrid
Administration,maintenanceandwarehouse
unit
Firesystem
PlantOperations TheTANPFisdesignedtooperate24/7,withan
averageplantavailabilityof90%(328.5daysper
year)excludinganydowntimeduetomarket
reasonsorotherreasonsnotrelatedto
operation.
ShutdownTime Anannualturnaroundofaboutoneweekis
foreseen.Additionaldowntimemaybecausedby
acombinationofplannedstops(e.g.cleaning)
andunplannedstops(eg.process,cycloneetc.)
ProductStorage BaggedTANstoragebuildingwithacapacityof
1,800MT
BulkTANstoragebuildingwithacapacityof
12,000MT
Nitricacidbufferstorage,twotankswithatotal
capacityof3,000m
3
locatedinabundedarea
withacidresistantsurface
Ammoniumnitratesolutionstorage(8092%),1
tankwithacapacityof500MT
PotableWater 2m
3
/hrfromWaterCorporation
Seawater 456m
3
/hrfromWaterCorporation
20
Criteria KeyCharacteristicsoftheTANPF
PowerRequirement 8.5MWwillberequired.Ofthis,about5MWwill
beimportedfromBFPL.
Theremainingpowerwillbegeneratedbyexcess
steamfromtheoperationofthenitricacidplant
(about3.5MW).
EmergencyPower Incaseofapoweroutageemergencypowerwill
beprovidedbydieselgenerators
EnergyInput 5MWfromBFPL
DischargePipeline ConnectingtotheWaterCorporationfacility
AmmoniaPipeline 710mfromBFPLAmmoniaplant(storagetanks)
totheTANPF(withinBNPLandBFPLleases)
Catalysts Platinum(Pt)/Rhodium(Rh)gauzesforthe
ammoniacombustion
RecoverysystemforthePt/Rhgauzes
N
2
Ocatalyst
NO
x
catalyst
ExpectedMaximumEmissions
underNormalOperations:
DailyLoad
(kg/day)
PertonneTAN
(kg/MTTAN)
AnnualLoad
(kg/year)
NO
x
370 0.40 28,318
N
2
O 466 0.51 161,563
CO
2
(produced) 1,279 1.40 515,670
CO 131 0.15 41,987
SO
2
trace trace
VOC(CH
4
) 51 0.06 17,697
NH
3
208 0.22 68,339
ANDust(Particulatematter) 130 0.14 42,705
Wastewater 11,661kg/hProcessCondensate(non
contaminated)toseawaterblowdown.
Contaminatedwater(fromcleaningequipment
etc)willbesentdirectlytothecontaminated
surfacewaterpond.
Thenoncontaminatedwaterwillbesentto
WaterCorporationviaapipeline(approximately
3,100ML/year).
Thecontaminatedwaterisevaporatedina
designatedpondwhichisaclosedsystem(eg.no
discharge).Accumulationofunspecifiedvolumes
ofsludgefromthecontaminatedsurfacewater
pondwillbecollectedfordisposalasrequired
(estimatedonceeverytwoyears).
SolidWaste Offspeccoatingremovalbarrels(expected120
kg/daymax)
Workforcenumbers(direct) Construction:Average400,peak650
Operation:60(fulltime)
5.2 ProjectLocation
TheTANPFProjectwillbelocatedatSiteD(theSite)withinthe
BIE,approximately13kmnorthwestofKarratha(Figure1.1and
Figure4.2).GeographiccoordinatesoftheproposedSiteandthe
proposed area of disturbance are provided in Table5.2 and
Table5.3respectively.
Table5.2 SiteDBoundaryCoordinates
Latitude Longitude
degrees minutes seconds degrees minutes seconds
20 37 17.815 116 47 8.044
20 37 20.638 116 47 36.463
20 37 57.086 116 47 23.843
20 38 2.246 116 47 7.988
Northings Eastings
477660.256mE 7719713.884mN
478479.474mE 7719628.771mN
478116.860mE 7718500.870mN
477660.230mE 7718348.890mN
Table5.3 TANPFBoundaryCoordinates(Areaof
Disturbance)
Latitude Longitude
degrees minutes seconds degrees minutes seconds
20 37 17.815 116 47 8.044
20 37 20.638 116 47 36.463
20 37 32.2206 116 47 32.445
20 37 35.0904 116 47 17.0586
20.626406 37 35.061 116 47 8.0478
Northings Eastings
477660.256mE 7719713.884mN
478479.474mE 7719628.771mN
478366.280mE 7719271.240mN
477924.010mE 7719182.250mN
477660.090mE 7719183.670mN
5.2.1 LandOwnershipandTenures
Lots within BIE are available for lease to strategic heavy
industry through the WA Department of State Development
(DSD), which allocate sites through a lease arrangement from
LandCorp(WA'slandandpropertydevelopmentagency).
TheSitehasbeenallocatedtoBNPL,subjecttotheapprovalofa
riskreporttobesubmittedtotheWADepartmentofMinesand
Petroleum(DMP)inthecomingmonths.
5.2.2 Zoning
The Site is zoned Strategic Industrial under the Roebourne
ShireTownPlanningScheme(TPS)No.8.Asoutlinedwithinthe
TPS the purpose of the Strategic Industry zone is to
accommodate such industries as the TANPF. In considering
applications for planning approval in the strategic industry
zone, the Shire of Roebourne Council shall ensure that the
industry(ShireofRoebourne,2008):
a) Optimises the effectiveness of the zone as a strategic
industrialareaand.createsasymbiosiswithotherindustries
orincludesresourceprocessingindustry;
b) issignificanttotheregionaland/orstateeconomies;or
c) Provides goods and services which directly support or
complementindustriesdescribedina)andb)above;and
d) Minimisesoroffsetsimpactsonlocalinfrastructure,economic
andcommunitydevelopment.
As noted in Section2.2.1 planning approval will be sought from

the Shire of Roebourne Council following completion of
environmentalapprovals.
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5.2.3 LandRequired
Approximately 35Ha of land within the project lease will be
disturbed as part of the TANPF Project (see Figure4.2). There
will be no additional temporary land requirements for the
construction phase, as construction laydown areas will be used
throughout the operational phase. This land is required to
accommodate:
Processingplants(NA,ANSolutionandTANproduction)
Utilitiesarea
Storages for bagged TAN, bulk TAN, AN solution, nitric acid
andchemicalstore(generalprocesschemicals)
Truckbulkloadingsystem/Baggingunit
Offspectreatmentunit
Otherfacilities,including:
SeaWaterCoolingTower
ClosedLoopWaterCoolingSystem
Clean surface water pond (discharge to Water
Corporation)
Contaminatedsurfacewaterpond(evaporationpond)
Desalinated/firewaterstorage
Controlroom/Office/Administration
Miscellaneous(internalroads,etc.)
Laydownareasandaccessroads.
Based on the land requirements of the TANPF, laydown areas

and internal roads it is planned that earthworks will be
undertakenasdescribedinTable5.4.
Table5.4 EarthworksandAssociatedCutandFill
TypeofEarthworks VolumeofCut/Fill(approximate)
Growthremoval 350,000m
2
Striptopsoil&stockpile 19,500m
3
Cutsoil 61,900m
3
Loadsoil/haul/place 92,500m
3
Importedengineeredfill isnotforeseen
5.2.4 AdjacentLandUses
Adjacent land uses for the TANPF Project are shown in
Figure5.1 and include industrial facilities present to the south
and west of the Site while the proposed Burrup Peninsula
Conservation Reserve occurs to the north and south of the Site,
withHearsonCovetotheeast.
The Burrup Peninsula has developed as a major industrial and

port site in Australia. Buildings, infrastructure and sensitive
receptors within close proximity to the Site are listed in
Table5.5.
Table5.5 ListofFacilitiesAdjacenttotheProposedTANPF
Facility/SensitiveReceptors ApproximateDistancefromTANPF(m)
NorthWestShelfVenture 3,200m
WoodsideLNGPlutoDevelopment 2,200m
DampierPortAuthority 4,000m
KingBaySupplyBase 3,000m
SchlumbergerSupplyBase 2,100m
BFPL Adjacent,ammoniatanks~600m
HearsonCove(visitors) 9001,300m
DeepGorge 1,300m
NearestRockArtSite Approximately400m
NearestRockArtSitewithinNational
HeritageBoundary
Approximately400m
The northsouth Burrup Road service corridor (see Figure5.1)

extendstotheNorthWestShelfVentureLNGplantinthenorth
and incorporates a power transmission network, a domestic
water pipeline and two high pressure underground gas
pipelines, the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline
(DBNGP).
CurrentlytheBFPLandtheWaterCorporationmultiuser(both
part of the same plot) facilities exist within King Bay/Hearson
Cove Industrial Precinct, with the potential inclusion of Dyno
NobelandWoodsideEnergyyettobeconfirmed.
NobuildingsorinfrastructurecurrentlyexistswithintheSite.
5.3 ProjectSchedule
The TANPF is scheduled to begin operations by last quarter
2013. This schedule is based around the following key
milestonesinTable5.6.
Table5.6 ProjectDevelopmentSchedule
ProjectPhase ScheduleTiming
SubmissionofEnvironmentalScopingDocument(ESD)toOEPA July2009
EPASUandDEWHAreviewESD JulySeptember2009
BNPLsubmitsrevisedESD September2009
OEPAapprovesfinalESD October2009
SubmissionofPERtoEPASU(andDEWHA) October2009
EPASUcommentsonPER OctoberDecember2009
BNPLrevisesPERdocument December2009
ApprovalofPERreleaseforpublicreview December2009
PublicreviewperiodofPER(8weeks) JanuaryFebruary2010
BNPLpreparessubmissionsummaryandresponse MarchApril2010
EPASUreviewsresponsetosubmissions AprilMay2010
OEPAreportandrecommendationspublished MayJuly2010
AppealperiodonOEPAsreportandrecommendations July2010
StateMinisterdecision August2010
CommonwealthMinisterdecision August2010
Construction Lastquarter2010
Commissioning June2013
Operation Lastquarter2013
Environmental Resources Management Australia Pty Ltd
6th Floor, 172 St Georges Tce, Perth, WA, 6000
Telephone +61 9 321 5200
Figure 5.1
Adjacent Land Uses to the
Proposed TANPF
Client:
Project:
Drawing No:
Date:
Drawn by:
Source:
Scale:
Burrup Nitrates Pty Ltd
PER
0086269p_GIS04_PER
21/12/2009
DD
Base information LANDGATE
1:40 000
Suffix No:
Drawing size:
Reviewed by:
R1
A4
BC
[
N
B U R R U P
P E N I N S U L A
King Bay
Withnell Bay
Cowie
Cove
Nickol Bay
Proposed
Development
Site
0 380 760 1,140m
Legend
Site D Boundary
National Heritage Listed Place (Site ID 105727)
H
E
A
R
S
O
N C
O
V
E
R
D
V
ILLA
G
E
RD
B
U
R
R
U
P
R
D
North West
Shelf Venture
Pluto
Operations
Dampier
Port Authority
Schlumberger
Supply Base
Pluto
Supply Base
Hearson Cove
BFPL
Ammonia
Plant
Beach & Picnic Area
Deep
Gorge
23
5.4 CharacteristicsandPropertiesofthe
TANPFsMainRawMaterialsand
Product
5.4.1 NitricAcid
Nitric acid is a colourless, yellow, or red, fuming liquid with an
acrid odour. The acid is often used in an aqueous solution.
Fuming nitric acid is concentrated nitric acid that contains
dissolvednitrogendioxide.
Table5.7 PropertiesofNitricAcid
NitricAcid(HNO
3
)
ChemicalAbstractsService(CAS)Number 7697372
RegistryofToxicEffectsofChemical
Substances(RTECS)Number
QU5775000
ImmediatelyDangeroustoLifeorHealth
(IDLH)
25ppm
ExposureLimits NationalInstituteforOccupational
SafetyandHealth(NIOSH)
RecommendedExposureLimit(REL):
Timeweightedaverage(TWA)2ppm
(5mg/m
3
)
OccupationSafetyandHealth
Administration(OSHA)permissible
exposurelimits(PEL):TWA2ppm
(5mg/m
3
)
NationalPollutionInventory(NPI)Ranking 43of90
Molarmass 63.012g/mol
PhysicalDescription Colourless,yellow,orred,fumingliquid
withanacridodour
FreezingPoint At60%conc.:22
o
C
BoilingPoint At60%conc.:120
o
C
SpecificGravity At60%conc.andat25
o
C:1,360kg/m
3
Solubilityinwater completelymiscible
Flashpoint NoncombustibleLiquid,butincreases
theflammabilityofcombustible
materials
DangerousSubstancesDirective Oxidant,Corrosive
5.4.2 Ammonia
Anhydrous ammonia is a colourless nonflammable liquefied
gas.Itsvapourislighterthanair[(vapourdensityof0.6)air=1]
and has the same pungent odour as household ammonia.
Although ammonia vapour is lighter than air, vapours from an
accidentalleakarelikelytohugthegroundappearingasawhite
cloud. Chemically ammonia is 82% nitrogen (N) and 18%
hydrogen(H).
Table5.8 PropertiesofAmmonia
Ammonia(NH
3
)
CASNumber 7664417
RTECSNumber BO0875000
IDLH 300ppm
ExposureLimits NIOSHREL:TWA25ppm(18mg/m
3
)
OSHAPEL:TWA50ppm(35mg/m
3
)
NationalPollutionInventory(NPI)Ranking 45of90
PhysicalDescription Colourlessgaswithstrongpungent
odour.Itiseasilyliquefiedunder
pressure
FreezingPoint 77
o
C
BoilingPoint 33
o
C
Solubilityinwater 1176g/100mL(0C)
702g/100mL(20C)
88g/100mL(100C)
Flashpoint NoncombustibleasaGas
DangerousSubstancesDirective Toxic,Corrosive,Dangerousforthe
environment(ifreleaseduncontrolled)
5.4.3 TechnicalAmmoniumNitrate
Thechemicalcompoundammoniumnitrate(NH4NO3)isasaltof
ammonia and nitric acid. Ammonium nitrate (AN) is a
colourless, crystalline substance and has a melting point of
169Canddecomposesabove210C.Itishighlysolubleinwater
and soluble in alcohol and liquid ammonia. AN is not in itself
combustible but, as it is an oxidising agent it can assist other
materialstoburn,evenifairisexcluded.
AN can be manufactured into several different grades to suit

different purposes. Fertilisergrade AN is manufactured in a
solid form (granules/ prills), with low porosity, in order to
achieve more stability and less sensitivity to detonation.
Technical grade AN, or TAN, is developed into prills which are
made to be porous for better absorption of fuel and higher
reactivitywhenmixedwithfueloilandusedasanexplosive,see
Figure5.2.
Figure5.2 PhotoofTANPrills
Scale (mm)
0 4 8
Scale (mm)
0 4 8
Scale (mm)
0 4 8
24
TAN will be the main product from the TANPF Project. TAN
prills will be produced with specifications similar to that in
Table5.9.TheTANprillswillbeusedinthelocalmarketforuse
inANFO(ammoniumnitratefueloil)explosives.
Table5.9 SpecificationsofTANPrills(typical)
TechnicalAmmoniumNitratePrills(TAN)
CASNumber 6484522
RTECSNumber BR9050000
PhysicalDescription WhiteSolid
PH 5
MeltingPoint 169C
BoilingPoint approx.210Cdecomposed
Solubilityinwater 118g/100ml(0C)
150g/100ml(20C)
297g/100ml(40C)
410g/100ml(60C)
576g/100ml(80C)
1024g/100ml(100C)
Shock/FrictionSensitivity Verylow
NitrogenContent 34.5%w
BulkDensity 0.700.83kg/L
FreeMoisture 0.030.16%w
OilAbsorption 8%14%w
AN is classified as a Class 5.1 oxidising agent and is designated

in the III packaging group (minor danger) in the Australian
DangerousGroupcode.
There are three main hazards associated with ammonium

nitrate:
fireduetoitsoxidisingnature;
decomposition;and
explosionresultingfromrapiddeflagration,ordetonation.
The most important parameters that influence the hazard and

increasesensitivitytoexplosionare:
particlesize;
particledensity/bulkdensity/porosity;
contamination with organic substances, certain metals and
chlorides;and
confinement.
Fire
AN itself does not burn. As an oxidiser, however, it can support
combustion and intensify a fire even in the absence of air, but
onlyaslongasfuelorcombustiblematterisalsopresent.Gases
are then emitted, especially nitrogen oxides. In addition, AN
melts at 169C, when pure. The melting absorbs some of the
energy received and the melted product often flows away and
escapestheexternalenergysource.
Decomposition
Pure AN can undergo thermal decomposition if it receives
enough energy. Gases are then emitted, especially nitrogen
oxidesandammonia,bothtoxic.Heatinginconfinementisarisk
when ventilation is inadequate. The rapid decomposition of the
ANleadstoaconsiderablepressurebuildupthatcaneventually
cause an explosion. With proper ventilation, the decomposition
stops as soon as the energy flow stops. The decomposition rate
is not dangerously high at moderate temperatures, and the
overall thermal effect is not significant since the exothermic
reactions are accompanied by endothermic disassociation,
which can in turn give rise to a steady state reaction provided
the gases produced can escape freely and the system is
adiabatic. The decomposition is catalysed by a number of
substances such as chlorides, which can affect the above
balance.
Explosion
ANcanproduceanexplosionbyoneofthreemechanisms:
heatinginconfinement;
runawayreaction;and
detonation.
TheeffectsofheatingofANaredescribedabove.
Arunawayreactionisachievedwhentheheatgeneratedbythe
reactionexceedstheheatlossbyasignificantlyhighmargin.For
pure AN, these circumstances are difficult to achieve given its
low decomposition rate and endothermic effect when
unconfined.
PureANisnotshockorfrictionsensitiveandcannotbeinduced
todetonateundernormalstorageconditions;detonation,which
are characterised by a supersonic pressure wave moving
through the material, can occur only if the dimensions of the
material are greater than some particular value known as The
critical charge diameter. For solid AN this diameter is more
than1manddecreaseswithdecreasingbulkdensityofthesolid
AN. The corresponding diameter for decomposing molten AN is
about10cm.
UncontaminatedandunconfinedANisverydifficulttodetonate.
Neitherflame,norsparknorfrictioncancauseadetonation.
Deflagration is not constrained by dimensions and is said to

occur when a subsonic combustion generated pressure wave
movesthroughthematerial.
TheconsensusofopiniononANhazardsisthat,intheeventofa
largefireatanANstore,apoolofliquidammoniumnitratewill
be formed at the side of the stack that is nearest to the fire. If
thispoolisstruckbyahighspeedmissile(eg.somethingfalling
orpartofadrumthathasexploded)thenalocalexplosionmay
occursendingashockwaveintothemainANstackthathasnot
meltedandthatcouldleadtodeflagration.
25
Stacks of AN in the open are assumed to be incapable of
exploding because the probability of an explosion trigger such
asagirderfallingintoamoltenpoolisverylow.
5.5 DesignConsiderations
5.5.1 HESDesignStandards
The Health Environment and Safety (HES) premises for the
TANPF Project provide a minimum set of standards to ensure
that identified risks to people, assets, environment and
reputation have been addressed in the project design. The
designmitigationstogetherwiththemanagementmeasureswill
ensuretheyareacceptabletoAsLowAsReasonablyPracticable
(ALARP)levels.
The HES requirements of the TANPF Project start with

compliance with the applicable Commonwealth and WA
legislation and relevant international agreements to which
Australia is a party, as specified in AnnexC. In addition, Yara
Policies, Standards, Procedures and Guidelines have also been
applied,withthestricterofthestandardsalwaysapplying.
The design of the TANPF Project adheres to sound engineering

practiceandisbasedonthemostrecentstandardsand/orcodes
assummarisedbelow:
Australianregulatoryrequirements.
ApplicableInternationalCodes,StandardsandGuidelines.
Applicable Yara standards and guidelines for this kind of
facility.
ApplicableBFPLstandards.
5.5.2 EmissionsReduction
ThedesignoftheTANPFincorporatesanumberofmeasuresto
reduceitsemissionsandcarbonfootprint.
The TANPF will use BAT to minimise emissions to ALARP. The

majorityofemissionsthatwilloccurfromtheTANPFwillcome
fromthemainprocessunits:
NitricAcid(NA)Plant;
AmmoniumNitrate(AN)SolutionPlant;and
TechnicalAmmoniumNitrate(TAN)PrillingPlant.
The following Best Available Technology (BAT) will be used to

helpreduceairemissionsfromtheTANPF.
NitricAcidPlant
The NA plant will use the dual pressure process, which ensures
optimal conditions in the combustion as well as in the
absorption stages to accommodate stringent environmental
pollution control requirements. In addition, the NA plant will
applyBATforfurtherabatementofN2OandNOx.
In the NA plant some N2O will be formed in the burner where

ammonia is oxidised by burning with air in the presence of a
catalyst. The formation of N2O is minimised by proper raw
material filtering, gas mixing and distribution to the catalytic
gauzes in the ammonia burner (the optimal conditions to
minimise N2O formation are to be considered in the final
process design phase). N2O emissions also follow the process
stream and ends up in the tail gas (waste gas emitted to the
atmosphere). With N2O already being reduced through the NA
process, N2O in the tail gas is further reduced by catalytic
reduction. This technology is to be finalised as part of the
process design. While some final design is still required to take
place,BNPLwillensurethattheemissionsofN2Ointhetailgas
(aftercatalyticabatement)ventedtotheatmospherewillbeless
than 100ppm (as a minimum), which corresponds to a
maximum emission of 6.1t/h of CO2e and an overall reduction
ofCO2eemissionsofapproximately90%.
ThecatalyticprocessforN2Oreductionrequirestheuseofsome
natural gas, with the maximum consumption to be 50Nm
3
/h.
This use of gas will result in CO2 formation, with a maximum
emission of 0.064t/h. Some slippage of methane will occur
which will correspond to a maximum value of 0.045t/h CO2e.
These additional emissions from the use of a N2O reduction
catalyst are required as they result in a far greater CO2e
reduction (approximately 90% reduction) than operations
withoutaN2Oreductioncatalyst.
The NA plant will have no boiler installed for continuous

production of steam or electricity as the process itself is
exothermicandgeneratesitsownrequirementsforsteamwhich
isusedtogenerateelectricity.InadditionBFPLwillprovidethe
utilities where required for start up steam and energy.
Consequently, there will be no Scope1 CO2 emissions from the
NA plant resulting from burning of fossil fuels except as
mentioned above for N2O abatement where a small amount of
naturalgasisusedviaBFPLsfacility.
AmmoniumNitrateSolutionPlant
The AN solution plant will use a Neutra (vacuum) synthesis
processtoprovidelowerreactortemperaturesthatwillresultin
increased safety, reduced level of aerosols and very clean
condensates(levelsaround15ppmNAand15ppmNH3).
Furthermore, all vapours produced in the process will be

condensed and the condensate reused to avoid unnecessary
emissionstotheatmosphere.
26
TechnicalAmmoniumNitratePrillingPlant
The TAN prilling plant will also use BAT to minimise
atmosphericemissions.TheprilltoweroftheTANprillingplant
will be designed with a recycle air closed loop air recycling
system to minimise the total amount of air rejected to the
atmosphere (less than 1/3 compared to open loop prilling).
This gives one single emission point expected to be well below
European Fertilizer Manufacturers Association (EFMA) Best
Available Techniques 2000 levels. In addition, all exhaust from
the prill tower will be cleaned in two stages using efficient
abatementsystems.
5.5.3 SafetyandSecurity
As well as environmental aspects, safety and security
considerations have significantly influenced the design of the
TANPF. Yara has developed Technical and Operational
Standards (TOPS) that will be implemented in the design and
engineeringaswellasfortheoperationandmaintenanceofthe
TANPF.
Yaras TOPS have been developed following over 40 years of
operational experience of TAN plants to provide safe and
reliable design and operation of equipment, individual process
units and plants. The standards are divided into different
categories:
1) StandardsapplicabletoallYara/BNPLoperations
2) Maintenance
3) Nitricacid
4) Ammoniumnitrate
5) Industrial/CO2
6) Transport,loading/unloading
TOPS does not replace the TANPF Projects compliance with

national and international codes and standards, but are
supplementary and provide specific know how and experience
acquiredbyYarafromdesigningandoperatingsimilarfacilities
for extended periods. Statutory regulations shall always be
complied with. In the case of a difference between statutory
requirementsandTOPS,themorestringentshallapply.
Generally, all raw materials and chemicals used in the TANPF

will be controlled according to TOPS to ensure correct quality
and to avoid contamination of areas that may jeopardise safety
and health. In addition, a number of analyses (both online and
regular spot checks) will be performed during operation of the
TANPF to ensure correct and safe operating conditions, to
assess the possible presence of contaminants and to maintain
product quality. Critical operating parameters in the various
process units that make up the TANPF will also have automatic
controls with trip functions toshut down theprocess safely if a
setsafetylimitisexceeded.Camerasforsurveillanceofthemain
process plants and product storage areas will be installed and
monitored.
TANPFMainProcessUnits
The dual pressure nitric acid process has been selected for its
reliability, long onstream time and efficiency. The turbo
machinery, as well as other key equipment, will be designed
with emphasis on reliability and safety. In compliance with
stringent internal pollution abatement requirements an
N2O/NOx catalyst based abatement system will also be installed
(asdiscussedinSection5.5.2).
The AN solution plant technology selected represents a reliable

process characterised by using forced circulation over the
reactortoavoidlocaloverheatingandtoallowoperationatlow
temperature. The pH of all product will be automatically
controlled at several points to ensure safe conditions and, if
required, ammonia would be added to maintain correct
conditions.Thequalityoftheacidfedtotheneutraliser,aswell
as the AN solution produced, will also be checked on a regular
basistoensurepossiblecontaminantsdonotexceedacceptable
limits.
The TAN prilling plant will use an organic internal additive to

achieveoptimalproductcharacteristics.Forsafetyreasonsvery
low levels of organic material in the TAN solution/product will
beallowed.Anumberofcontrolmechanisms(onlineaswellas
manual) will be implemented to ensure that organic limits are
notexceeded.
TANStorage
TAN product will be stored on site as bulk and bagged product.
More details on the storage of TAN product is described in
Section5.6.5below.
As part of the evaluation of risk associated with storing of TAN

at the Site, internationally renowned Dutch research institute,
TNO, a specialist in assessing risks of these types of storages,
was consulted. Based on simulations by TNO, it has been
concluded that for two separated bulk piles of TAN the
occurrence of a sympathetic detonation is extremely unlikely,
even for separation distances smaller than 1 metre (m). A
consequence of this is that the bulk product will be stored in
several smaller piles, and not one large pile, with a clear
separation distance (about 1m). Additionally, no solid objects
will be located between the piles since such objects could be
strongly accelerated by a blast wave and could subsequently
impactwithotherpilesofTANandgenerateveryhighpressure
intheacceptorresultinginapotentialdetonation.
For bagged TAN product storage similar simulations have been

performed by TNO to calculate the safe distance between
product stacks as well as configuration of the stacks. The
optimalbagconfiguration(bagsof750kgto1250kg)isabulk
wise stacking (eg. 12+9+6), with each consecutive layer is
1.5bags staggered towards the centre (giving a pyramidal
shape), see Figure5.3. With this configuration a separation
distance of 7 9m (depending on product grade) will be
sufficient to prevent a sympathetic detonation between two
stacks. The big bags will therefore be stacked in a bulkwise
27
configuration with 3 layers and about 300 tons or less in each
stack and with a distance of 7 9m between the stacks. Floor
markingwillensurethatsafestackingzonesaremaintained.
Figure5.3 OptimalTANBagStackingConfigurations
PlantOperation
The process safety and all relevant procedures of the TANPF
Project will be set out in a document that describes the
minimumrequirementstobeimplemented.
In addition to process safety, there will be a focus on

housekeepingsincethisisconsideredofparamountimportance
to avoid contamination of products, raw materials and
chemicalsthatcouldhaveadverseeffectsonsafetyintheTANPF
orlaterintheproducthandlingchain.
SafeplantoperationisakeyfocusofBNPLandensuringproper
maintenance is a key to safe operation. Important elements in
achieving optimum safety, performance and reliability of
operatingequipmentaresystematicmaintenanceandcondition
monitoring. Details on how this is done will be described in the
TOPS for maintenance, which will be implemented for the
TANPF. Other important elements are modifications/
management of change, work permits and associated risk
assessment/job safety analysis. All modifications of process
systemsandprocessequipmentwillhavetobeapprovedbased
onasystematicreviewofHESissues.
Fire prevention requirements have also been included in the

design of the TANPF (eg. use of materials). This is related to
process units, buildings, and material handling and product
storages. Prior to commissioning and operations, a detailed fire
riskassessmentwillbecarriedoutandtheSitewillbeclassified
into fire cells with respect to probability and potential
consequence of a fire. Based on this, necessary fire protection
will be implemented (eg. fire wall/barrier, conveyor belt
material,firedetectionsystems,fireextinguishingsystems).
To ensure safe management of the product from the TANPF,

BNPL will apply the principles and requirements of the EFMAs
Product Stewardship program, considered to be European
accepted practice. This will involve management of the TAN
product throughout all stages of its lifecycle (development,
materials procurement, manufacturing, distribution and use) in
a safe way with respect to health, environment, occupational
and public safety, and security. As an example, dedicated
carrier(s) will be used for transporting TAN, with all operators
(drivers), as well as vehicles, to be certified for the particular
purpose.TheProductStewardshipprogramwillcomplywithall
Commonwealth and State legislation and where the program
andlegislationcrossover,thestricterofthetwowillapply.
An annual safety program will be designed and established to

maintainasafeandhealthyworkenvironmentforallemployees
and contractors. All employees will be required to successfully
complete a safety training program prior to gaining approvalto
workontheTANPFProjecttoachieveandmaintainthelevelof
competencerequired.Safetytrainingwillalsobemandatoryfor
allcontractorsonsite.
TANPFSecurity
The core of the security network for the TANPF will be
surveillance cameras for the complete fenced perimeter and a
gatehouse that will be manned 24/7 to control/register all
incoming/outgoing traffic (vehicles as well as individuals).
Different areas within the TANPF will have different
classification (eg. access granted to authorised personnel only,
access when accompanied by an employee, limited access
outsidenormalworkinghoursetc.).
Employees will be equipped with ID/access cards to be worn

and clearly displayed at alltimes. All employees and temporary
staff will receive necessary security training. The site manager
will ensure that temporary staff from outside BNPL, as well as
suppliers of goods and services to BNPL, are certified by
checkingcredentialsfollowingestablishedprocedures.
Prior to commissioning and operations, an emergency plan will

be developed for the TANPF for handling of accidents and
incidents with risk to life, property and the environment. The
TANPF will be certified to ISO9001 (quality), ISO14001
(environment) and to OHSAS18001 (safety) standards to
ensure the highest quality of safety and environmental
management.
28
TheTANPFwillalsobeauditedonaregularbasisusinginternal
and/orexternalauditorstoensurecompliancewiththevarious
TOPS as well as regulations, codes, standards and WA and/or
CommonwealthMinisterialconditions.
5.5.4 UnplannedEvents
An Emergency Response Plan covering all credible HES
emergency scenarios (including tropical cyclone response)
during all phases of the project and the escalation potential of
any emergency situation will be developed for the TANPF
ProjectandisdiscussedfurtherinSection8.11.4.
All process structures and vessels will be designed for seismic

actions,eg.earthquakes,inaccordancewithAS1170.42007.
5.5.5 ExtremeWeatherEventsCycloneDesign
andPrecautions
Throughout the design of the TANPF Project extreme weather
eventshavebeenextensivelyanalysedtoensurethattheTANPF
willwithstandextremeweatherevents.
The TANPF has been designed for an operating life of 20 plus

years.Acceptedinternationaldesigncriteriahavebeenusedfor
proper sizing of equipment, buildings and other structures
considering the extreme weather conditions likely to be
experiencedattheSite.Stormwaterdrainshavebeendesigned
for105mm/hrainfall.Thebuildingswillalsobebuilttohandle
wind velocities up to 300km/h in any direction at 10 m above
ground.
In the event of flooding due to a heavy rainfall and/or storm

surge, the TANPF (including clean surface water ponds and
otherareasofpotentialareasofcontamination)willberaisedto
at least 5.5mAHD to avoid any serious safety and/or
environmental accidents associated with these events (see
AnnexE).
Thecleansurfacewaterpondwillhaveanareaof40mby25m,
andadepthof1.5m.Thecontaminatedsurfacewaterpondwill
haveanareaof70mby70m,andadepthof1.5mbothponds
will be bunded. Preliminary plans of the drainage design are
showninAnnexF.
TheTANPFdesignlevelincorporatesthepotentialforfuturesea
level rise for the 20 year plus operational phase. The TANPF
maybefurtherraiseddependingontheoutcomeofgeotechnical
worktobeundertakenpriortoconstruction.
5.6 TANProcessDescriptionand
AssociatedInfrastructure
5.6.1 Introduction
TheTANPFwillbepositionedinthenorthwestcorneroftheSite
(Figure4.2). The plant layout is shown in Figure5.4 and
Figure5.5.
Figure5.4 3DModelofPlant
Erv|rorrerla| Resources Varagererl Auslra||a Ply Lld

l| F|oor, 1Z2 3l 0eorges Terrace, Perl|, wA 000
Te|ep|ore 1 8 9321 5200
Proposed PIant Layout
0ale: 22/12/2009
0raWr oy:
3ource:
00
-
0raW|rg No: 00829p_01_0RA_R1
0raW|rg s|ze: A1
Rev|eWed oy: 8C
3ca|e:
PER Projecl:
8urrup N|lrales Ply Lld C||erl:
Figure 5.5
Nol lo 3ca|e
30
The TANPF will comprise of the following main project
elements:
MainProcessUnits,including:
NitricAcid(NA)Plant;
AmmoniumNitrate(AN)SolutionPlant;
TechnicalAmmoniumNitrate(TAN)PrillingPlant;
Storage,LoadingandTransportFacilities;
OtherFacilitiesandBuildings;and
SupportingInfrastructureandCommunications.
Figure5.6belowrepresentsasimplifiedvisualillustrationofthe
TAN production process. This is followed by an overview of
eachmainprocessingunitwithintheTANPF.
Figure5.6 TANProductionProcess
5.6.2 NitricAcidPlant
The NA plant will be based on the dual pressure process and
will:
Haveacapacityof760MTPDNA(as100wt%);
Requireammoniaandoxygen(air)asrawmaterials;
Generateabout3.5MWofpowerfromexcessprocesssteam
whichwillbeusedtodrivecompressorsintheNAplant;
Bedesignedtooperatebetween70and100%load;and
ProduceNA(approximately60%concentration)thatwillbe
senttotheANsolutionplant.
The following outlines the various unit operations and

processeswithintheproposedNAplant.Additionalinformation
iscontainedinTable5.10.
Ammonia/AirPreTreatment
Air is initially filtered in a twostage filter system. This is
followed by compression in an air compressor that does not
requireanyinterstagecooling.Thecompressedairisthensplit
into two sections with the primary air going to the ammonia
burnerwhilethesecondaryairissenttothenitricacidbleacher.
Liquid ammonia feed is evaporated, superheated (using steam)
and filtered to remove impurities. The superheated ammonia is
theninjectedintotheprimaryairandmixedbeforebeingfedto
theammoniaburner.
NitricAcidSynthesis
The compressed air/ammonia mixture enters the burner and
passes through a gas distribution system. At the platinum
gauzes, ammonia is combusted to Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) at a
temperaturearound890to900C.
Inthedownstreampipingandequipment,NOisoxidisedtoNO2
generating additional heat that is used in the heat recovery
network.
The gas is cooled down further and condensed, forming nitric

acid with around 40% by weight in the weak acid condenser.
Theacidisthenseparatedfromtheprocess gasandpumpedto
theappropriatetrayintheabsorptiontower.
The process gas is compressed to the selected absorption

pressure.Thecompressedgasisusedtoheatthetailgas.Inthe
absorption tower, NOx gases are absorbed into water to form
NA.Thegasleavingtheabsorber(tailgas)isexpectedtohavea
NOx content of approximately 400ppm, depending on pressure
andchilledwatertemperatures.
The tail gas will then enter the abatement reactor (N2O/NOx
reductionunit).ThisreductionunitutilisesBAT,andthetailgas
vented to the atmosphere from the TANPF will comply with
statutoryrequirementsandenvironmentalguidelines.
After the abatement reactor the tail gas will enter the tail gas
turbine where it is expanded to recover 70% of the power
demandforthecompressortrain.
The acid concentration will be optimised tomatch the AN plant

requirements, but will be approximately 60% by weight. Heat
generatedfromtheacidproductionoperationispartlyusedfor
theproductionofsteamandforthegenerationofelectricityand
only the remaining heat is removed into the chilled water and
sweetwatercoolingloops.
31
Table5.10 NAPlantSummaryDevelopment
NitricAcidPlant
Inputs/quantities
orvolumes
Outputs/Products Outputs/Wastes&Emissions
Ammonia:
8,977kg/h
Air:
160,359kg/hor
51,629m
3
/hr
Water
(saline,potable):
Noconsumption
directlyinprocess
Power:
3.5MWinternal
generation(Steam
fromNAPlant)
0.38MWinternal
consumption
ProduceNA(approx.
60%concentration)
52,778kg/hor39.8
m
3
/hrasan
intermediateproduct
thatwillbesentto
theANsolutionplant
1) AirEmissions
N
2
O
- Normaloperation100ppm
or19.4kg/hr
- Max
1
2,000ppmor180kg/hr
NO
x
- Normaloperation75ppmor
15kg/hrcalculatedasNO
2
- Max
1
700ppmor100kg/hr
calculatedasNO
2
CO
2
- Normaloperation250ppm
or49.5kg/hr
- Max
1
400ppmor79.42kg/hr
CO
- Normaloperation<40ppm
or<4.45kg/hr
- Max
1
40ppmor4.45kg/hr
CH
4
2.1kg/hr
- Max
1
100ppmor7.1kg/hr
NH
3
0.08kg/hr
- Max
1
5ppmor0.4kg/hr
H
2
S
- Normaloperation,traces
only
- Max
1
,tracesonly
2) LiquidEmissions
Oilresidueandsludgefromthe
heatexchangersandstorage
tanks,minimalquantities
3) Catalysts
ThePt/Rhcatalystgauzesand
thecatchmentsystemwillbe
completelychangedand
recycledapproximatelytwo
timesayear.
TheNO
x
andN
2
Ocatalysthas
alifetimeofapproximately10
yearsandwillbereturnedto
themanufacturer
1.Maxvaluesareassociatedwithupsetconditionsandincludestartupandshutdown,
whichdonotgenerallylastmorethan4hours.
5.6.3 AmmoniumNitrateSolutionPlant
The AN solution plant will apply the vacuum neutralisation
technologyandwill:
Haveacapacityof965MTPDAN(as100wt%)tomatchthe
NAplantcapacity;
Requireammoniaandnitricacidasrawmaterials;and
Produce AN solution that is either sent to the TAN prilling
plantorstored.
The following is an overview of the AN solution plant process.

AdditionalinformationiscontainedinTable5.11.
AmmoniumNitrateSynthesis
Superheated gaseous ammonia at about 90C and preheated
liquid nitric acid (approximately 60wt%) at about 65C are
injected intothe bottom part of a forced circulation neutraliser.
The reaction is exothermic in nature and requires good control
of feeds. The molar ratios of reactants are controlled
automatically. Nitric acid flow controls the main flow of
ammonia.
The circulating stream leaving the neutraliser enters a cyclone

separator operating under slight vacuum providing flash
evaporation of the solution giving a concentration of about
93wt%. The temperature rise in the neutraliser will be limited
to145C.
Table5.11 ANSolutionPlantSummaryDevelopment
AmmoniumNitrateSolutionPlant
Inputs/quantitiesor
volumes
Ammonia:
8,630kg/h
NitricAcid:
52,756kg/has60%
concentration
Water(saline,
potable):
nowater
consumption
Power:
(BFPLorinternal)
105KW
ProduceANsolution:
43,300kg/hmaxand
40,300kg/hnominal
as93%willbeused
forTANproduction.
1) AirEmissions
None
2) LiquidEmissions
Cleancondensate(15ppmN
frombothammoniaandAN)
isusedinthescrubberandas
makeupwater
Blowdown,containing
suitablecontamination
concentrationstobeexported
totheWaterCorporation
(about12m
3
/h).
1.Maxvaluesareassociatedwithupsetconditionsandincludestartupandshutdown,
whichdonotgenerallylastmorethan4hours.
2.Nitricacidemissionsofoffvapourscanbeproducedfromtheneutralisationreactor
intheTANplant.However,alloffvapoursproducedwillbecondensedbackintothe
system,ie.itisaclosedsystem,thereforetherewillbenoemissions.
5.6.4 TechnicalAmmoniumNitratePrillingPlant
The TAN prilling plant will be designed based on the Yara
process for final evaporation and prilling/drying/cooling, and
will:
haveacapacityof915MTPDprilledTAN(as100wt%);
requireANsolutionasrawmaterials;and,
produce TAN prills that are either bagged or stored in bulk
andthensentviatrucktocustomers.
In order to generate products of the specified properties, a

number of unit operations and processes are required, as
described below. Additional information is contained in
Table5.12.
32
AmmoniumNitrateSolutionConcentration
The AN solution from the neutraliser is sent to a falling film
evaporatorthatoperatesundervacuum.Evaporationultimately
resultsinaproductconcentrationupto96.5wt%AN.
AdditivePreparation
To produce the higher density grade AN, an additive known as
permalene is required. This permalene solution (25%) is
prepared from the raw materials boric acid, ammonium sulfate
and diammonium phosphate. On the other hand, lower density
AN is produced by theintroductionof an organic additive. Note
that for safety reasons, this organic additive is introduced just
beforetheprillnozzle.Theadditivesareeitherproducedonsite
oraredeliveredasreadymadechemicals.
Prilling
TheANsolutionispumpedtothetopoftheprillingtower.Here,
the solution flows by gravity to the prilling nozzles where they
form droplets that crystallise as they fall from the top of the
tower. The cooling air required for crystallisation of the AN is
recycled to limit atmospheric emissions, while cool and hot air
generatedisreusedviaaseriesofunitoperations.
Drying
Prills exiting the prill tower are directed to the drying section
for reducing the moisture content from 3 4wt% to 0.05
0.2wt%, depending on grade. This is achieved via either co
current or counter current dryers. This unit operation removes
mostofthewaterpresentandresultsinaporousproduct.
CoolingandConditioning
Dried prills are screened before being fed to the fluidised bed
cooler. Oversizes and fines are removed and recycled while the
onspec prills are cooled to the optimal storage temperature.
Thefluidisedbedcoolerisatwostagecoolerwithintermediate
air recycle. The air usage in this section is also integrated to
othersectionsofthefacility,whichisagoodmeansofachieving
higher economic and environmental viability. The cooled
product is finally sent to a coating drum where anti caking
agentsaresprayedon.
Table5.12 TANPrillingPlantSummary
Inputs/quantities
orvolumes
ANsolution:
40,300kg/has93%
concentration
NitricAcid:
290kg/has60%
conc.
ProducePrilledTAN
38190kg/h
1) AirEmissions
ANDustparticles
- Normaloperation2.8kg/hr
- Max
1
5.4kg/hr
NH
3
- Normaloperation2.3kg/hr
- Max
1
8.7kg/hr
Inputs/quantities
orvolumes
PrillCoating:
38.5kg/h
InternalAdditive:
26.5kg/h(2types
organicorinorganic)
Water(saline,
potable)
2m
3
/hrdesalinated
water
Power
BFPLorinternal)
3.04MW
Continuousemissionswillbe
cleanedinseveralstages
culminatinginacommon
scrubberthatventstothe
atmospheretomeetstatutory
requirements.Duringnormal
operationtheammonium
nitrateandammonia
emissiontoatmospherewill
be2.3and2.8kg/h,
respectively.
2) LiquidEmissions
Occasionalfloorwashings,
drains,dripsrainwateretc
(about4m
3
/day).
Atmosphericmoisture
condensationfromplantair
conditioning,about1.9m
3
/h
1. Max values are associated with upset conditions and include startup and shut
down,whichdonotgenerallylastmorethan4hours
5.6.5 Storage,LoadingandTransportFacilities
BulkTANStorageBuildingandTruckBulkLoadingSystem
The bulk TAN storage will have a capacity of 12,000 MT. The
storage/layout of the product piles are based on
recommendations from the world renowned Dutch research
institute TNO to ensure safe conditions (see Section5.5.3 for
further details). As a consequence the storage will have several
bulk piles with a distance of about 1 m to avoid sympathetic
detonation. Due to the ambient temperature of the Pilbara
region, the bulk storage will have a special roof construction to
maintain temperatures within acceptable levels. Air
dehumidification or conditioning is likely to be further
consideredtoimprovethestorageifdeemednecessary.
The final TAN product leaving the TAN prilling plant will be
conveyed to the bulk storage or directly to the truck loading
area(includingweightbridge).Thetruckloadingcanalsobefed
from the bulk storage using a front end loader and conveying
system.
Bulk TAN will be transported to the consumers by trucks only,

which will be loaded using a system consisting of front loaders,
bucketelevatorsandsilosincombinationwithatruckweighing
system. Approximately 25 trucks will operate per day for the
transport of products (including bulk, bagged and solution),
with all trucks fully authorised with licensed/certified
operators.
BaggedTANStorageBuildingandBaggingFacility
The storage for bagged TAN product will have a capacity of
1,800MT.Theproductwillbestoredinstacksofabout300MT
orlessandwithminimum79metresbetweenthestacksusing
astackingconfigurationrecommendedbyTNO(seeSection5.5.3
forfurtherdetails).
33
ThebaggingfacilitywillhaveacapacitytobagTANinto1,000
1,250kg bags. Product that is to be bagged will also be
reclaimed from the bulk storage and conveyed to the bagging
plant.Forkliftswillbeusedtotransportbaggedproductstothe
bagged TAN storage building. Bagged products will be
transportedtocustomersusingtrucksasdiscussedabove.
NitricAcidBufferStorage
Two tanks with a total capacity of 3,000m
3
will be located in a
bundedareawithanacidresistantsurface.
AmmoniumNitrateSolutionStorage
ExcessANsolutionwillbestoredatconcentrationsof8092%
withina500MTtankthatwillbelocatedinabundedarea.
AN solution may be loaded on trucks from the AN storage tank

which will be provided with a necessary loading system. If AN
solutionissold,itwillbetransportedtocustomersusingtrucks
asdiscussedabove.
ChemicalStorage
As part of the TAN production process, certain organic and
inorganic chemicals will be required to be stored on site for
numerousprocessrequirements.Thechemicalstobestoredon
sitearedescribedbelow,includinganyrequirementforbunding
or other specialised storage procedures required. Unless
otherwise specified, all chemicals not being used will be stored
inthechemicalstoragebuilding.
Inorganic internal additives These are required to be
stored as dry material on site. These materials will be
bagged and handled by forklifts for the preparation of the
additive solution that will be directly pumped into the TAN
process (approx 1.5 month consumption). The major
inorganicadditivestobestoredonsiteare:
20MTBoricacidin1MTbigbags.
20MTDiAmmoniumPhosphatein1MTbigbags.
5MTAmmoniumSulfatein25kgsmallbags.
Organic internal additives Organic additives have the
potential to interact with TAN and other products on site if
not carefully managed. Organic additives shall be stored in
separatebundedareastopreventmixingwithproduct.The
chemicals shall be delivered in truck/containers and
pumped into the storage. The key organic additive to the
TANprocesswillbe:
Sulphonated naphthalene 20MT in powder form in
500kgbags(tobeusedtoprepareasolutionthatwillbe
pumped into the process), or 25MT of ready made
solution(approx1.5monthconsumption).
Coating Agent (Amine wax) 35MT as melted wax
pumpeddirectlyintotheprocess.Thisshallbedelivered
as a wax that may need heating for transfer into storage
tank(approx1.5monthconsumption).
Laboratory chemicals Mostof the laboratory analysis shall
be performed in the main laboratory, located at the BFPL
plant site. The only frequent analysis requiring chemicals
that shall be performed on the premises of the TANPF will
be moisture content using the Karl Fischer method that
requiresthefollowingchemicals,whichwillbestoredinthe
chemicalstore:
Methanol200L(equivalenttooneyearofusage).
Karl Fisher reagent 20L (equivalent to one year of
usage).
ChemicalsforNAplantThefollowingchemicals,whennot
beingused,willbestoredinthechemicalstore:
Hydrogen (99% conc.) Will be used to ignite the
burners in the NA plant. Approximately twenty 50L
bottles will be required in first year, with 12 bottles per
yearafterthat.Approximatelyfourbottleswillbestored
atthenitricacidplantandtheremaininginthechemical
store.
Nitrogen(99.5%conc.)Will beusedforutilitystations
and purging of equipment. Four 40L bottles will be
storedinthechemicalstoreforannualuse.
Calibration gases for the tail gas analysers of the NA plant
Consumption will be based on the intervals of calibration
(yettobedetermined).Thefollowinggaseswillbeusedwith
eachtobestoredin40Lbottles:
NitrogenConsumptionabout4bottlesperyear.
N2O/NO/CH4/N2 mix consumption about 1 bottle per
year.
N2O/NO/N2consumptionabout1bottleperyear.
NO2/Airmixconsumptionabout1bottleperyear.
One complete set (one of each above) of calibration gases
will be installed in the analyser container in the NA plant.
Theotherremainingbottlesfortheyearlyconsumptionwill
bestoredinthechemicalstore.
Other chemicals Other chemicals to be used on site are as
follows,withallchemicalstobestoredinthechemicalstore
unlessotherwisespecified:
Trisodium phosphate For pH adjustment of boiler
water.Consumptionofabout100kgperyear.
Oxygenscavenger(Eliminox)forremovingrestoxygen
intheboilerfeedwater.Consumptionofabout100Lper
year.
Cleaning chemicals like acetone for removing of oil.
Consumptionofabout200Lperyear.
Chemicals for neutralisation of acidic wastes (NaOH).
Consumption of about 200L per year. To be stored near
the contaminated surface water ponds in appropriate
storage.
Chemicals for neutralisation of alkali wastes (HNO3).
Consumption of about 200L per year. To be stored near
the contaminated surface water ponds in appropriate
storage.
Corrosion inhibitor Natriumhypochlorid (NaOCL) to be
stored in the NA plant in a 30m
3
tank. Continuous
consumptionduringoperationofabout3.5kg/h.
34
Biocide To be mainly stored in a 1 m
3
container at the
NA plant from where a 300L day tank will be fed. There
will be continuous consumption during operation of
about 0.5L/h. Depending on delivery more containers
maybestoredinthechemicalstore.
Scale inhibitor To be mainlystored in a 1m
3
container
at the NA plant from where a 300L day tank will be fed.
There will be continuous consumption during operation
of about 0.75L/h. Depending on delivery more
containersmaybestoredinthechemicalstore.
DieselStorage
An onsite above ground diesel fuel store of a capacity of
approximately 12m
3
will be installed to provide refuelling for
the payloaders and possible feed to the emergency diesel
generatordaytank.Thistankwillbelocatedinanappropriately
bundedarea.
During precommissioning, commissioning and start up some

additional quantities of diesel may be required. These will be
storedappropriatelyasdescribedabove.
LiquidAmmoniaPipeline
TheTANPFwillreceiveliquidammoniafromtheadjacentBFPL
plantviaa710mlong,insulated4inchdiameterpipeline,torun
betweentheBFPLandTANPFsiteswithineachrespectivelease
(seeFigure4.2).Toreducethereleaseofammoniaincaseofan
accidental leak or rupture of the line, an emergency shut down
willtakeplaceresultinginisolationofthelineinto3sections.
5.6.6 WaterSupplyandTreatment
WaterCorporationsDesalinationandSeawaterSupplies
Project
In order to service the needs of industrial facilities on the
Burrup Peninsula, the Water Corporation constructed a
Desalination and Seawater Supply Facility. This facility supplies
seawater (capacity of 280ML/d) and desalinated water
(4ML/d), as well as providing a brine discharge line, which
includesdisposaloftreatedindustrialanddomesticwastewater
(208ML/d) for local strategic industries in the King Bay
HearsonCoveIndustrialArea.
The Water Corporation facility was issued with WA Ministerial

approval in June 2002 (Statement No.594), with the license
conditions outlining specific wastewater criteria to be achieved
by the Water Corporation prior to discharge of brine into King
Bay (see AnnexF for Water Corporation conditions). The
commitments also state that wastewater will only be accepted
fromindustriesundertheLicenseandMinisterialConditionsfor
thoseindustries.
The Water Corporation as owners and managers of the brine

and wastewater discharge system monitor and report on the
individual effluent streams entering, and the combined
discharge leaving, the system. The Water Corporation has
committed to implement (and is implementing) an
EnvironmentalManagement Program that includes appropriate
monitoring and reporting, encompassing water, sediment and
biota,forthewastewater systemandtheambientenvironment.
The Water Corporation has also committed to impose
contractual obligations on system users (which will include
BNPL) with respect to the flow and composition of their
discharge into the multiuser discharge system. The Water
Corporation also independently sample and analyse the
individualdischargesonaregularbasistovalidatetheaccuracy
ofthedataprovidedbysystemusers.
SeaWaterSupplyandCoolingTower
Sea water will be supplied by the Water Corporation and shall
be used solely as make up water for the sea water closed loop
cooling towers to be installed on the premises of the TANPF.
About450m
3
/hshallbeimportedandablowdownof350m
3
/h
shall be exported back to the Water Corporation in accordance
with approved Ministerial and licence conditions for release of
watertotheWaterCorporationreturnline.Thecoolingtowers
willalsocomplywiththeHealth(AirHandlingandWarmWater
Systems)Regulations1994.
DesalinationWaterandPotableWaterSupply
Potable water shall be provided directly by the Water
Corporation, with desalinated water to be provided by BFPL. A
totalof2m
3
/hofpotablewaterwillbesuppliedfromtheWater
Corporation.
Desalinated water will be used for fire fighting and utility

stations and for the closed loop fresh water cooling system. An
adequatevolumeforfirefightingwaterisforeseen.
PotablewaterobtainedfromtheWaterCorporationwillbeused
forsafetyshowers,utilitiesanddomesticpurposes.
ClosedLoopFreshWaterCoolingSystem
The cooling requirements of the process elements within the
TANPF will partially be provided by a closed loop fresh water
cooling system. Process heat exchangers requiring cooling
waterwillnormallybefedfromthissystem,with6,545m
3
/hof
fresh water to be within the loop system with the exception of
thesteamcondenserintheNAplant.Thehotfreshwaterwillbe
cooled with seawater from the cooling towers. The steam
condenser of the NA plant shall be fed directly from the
seawaterloopsystem.
The heat from the TANPF process operations is taken out

through the use of the cooling system by evaporation of about
100m
3
/hofseawaterinthecoolingtowers.
35
WaterPonds
A clean surface water pond and a contaminated surface water
pond will be utilised at the facility to managethe various liquid
streams.
The clean surface water pond will store rainwater collected

from roofs and parking areas as well as clean condensates.
About 24.6ML/y of water from the clean surface water pond
will be transferred to the Water Corporation facility. The water
will be analysed prior to discharge from the BNPL facility to
ensure it complies with approved Ministerial and licence
conditionsoftheWaterCorporation.
Contaminated water (eg. miscellaneous drips/drains/floor and

equipment washings) will be neutralised and collected in a
contaminated surface water pond for evaporation. This is a
closed system (eg. no liquid will be discharged), with the solid
salts/ sludge created by evaporation to be treated and handled
as special waste in accordance with all relevant statutory
requirements. This waste will be sent offsite for disposal at an
appropriate facility by an approved and licensed waste
contractor. The contaminated surface water pond will be
divided into two sections so that one section can remain in
operationwhiletheotherisbeingcleanedofresidualsalts.The
pond is sized to be able to cope (evaporate) with the normal
flow of wastewater from the TANPF estimated to be about
9,735t/year and additional flows in connection with tropical
cyclones.
The water ponds will be located at an altitude above sea level

sufficient to secure against ingress of flood waters or storm
surge. The ponds will comply with Department of Water
requirements for constructing contaminated surface water
ponds, and the need for measures to deter birds from these
pondswillbeinvestigated.
Drainage
Drainage design cannot be finalised until the project is at the
detailed design stage. At this stage, consultation on drainage
design will be undertaken with DEC. However, the overarching
principles are known and a preliminary plan is shown in
AnnexF.
NaturaldrainageontheSitewillbedivertedtoensurethatflows
continue into the salt flats. BNPL will consult with DEC over
drainage design to ensure that there is a minimal impact on
naturalflows.
Wastewaterandrainwaterwillbecollectedonsite,andwillbe
segregated to drain to either the clean or contaminated surface
water pond (as discussed above). Water quality will be
controlled and monitored using conductivity and pH
measurements, and water will be routed to the appropriate
pond.Waterfromthecleansurfacewaterpondwhichdoesnot
exceedtheWaterCorporationsagreedMinisteriallimitswillbe
senttotheWaterCorporation.
The TANPF shall comprise a network of bunded areas and
trenches so that any potentially contaminated water is kept
completely isolated from rainwater. All storage tanks and all
main plant units will be bunded. Bunded areas within the
complex shall in most cases include a collecting pit from which
wastewaterissenttothecontaminatedsurfacewaterpond.
Some bunded areas that may contain special components

(coating agent for example) shall be emptied using trucks and
drained content shall be treated as special waste. These wastes
willnotbeconnectedtothecontaminatedsurfacewaterpond.
Clean surface water, such as rainwater, shall be collected

through a separate trench and gutter network and sent to the
cleansurfacewaterpond.
WastewaterStreams
A total of 3,105ML/y of water (including sea water blow down
and clean surface water) will be sent to the Water Corporation
in compliance with the Water Corporation Ministerial
conditions.ThislevelofdischargewillbewellwithintheWater
Corporationdischargelinecapacityof208MLperday,withthe
current use of the discharge line being less than 50% capacity
(perscomm.BrettJago,2009).
All contaminated streams (waste) shall be sent to the

contaminated surface water pond. For example, purge streams
from ammonia heat exchangers shall be collected in barrels.
These barrels are either treated (neutralised) when possible or
removed as special waste; trace amounts may be sent to the
contaminatedsurfacewaterpond.
There may also be exceptional drainage of bunded areas

containing water that is possibly contaminated by special
substances. These shall be treated as special waste. All
wastewaterdisposalswillcomplywiththeHealth(Treatmentof
Sewage and Disposal of Effluent and Liquid Waste) Regulations
1974.Atthisstagetherearenoplansfortheuseofanyrecycled
water, however, if this is required this will be carried out in
accordance with the National Water Quality Management
Strategy Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling: Managing
HealthandEnvironmentalRisks(Phase1)2006.
5.6.7 PowerGenerationTreatment
PowerGenerationandEmergencyPower
Approximately 8.5MW of power will be required to run the
TANPF. About 5MW of the total 8.5MW requirement for the
TANPFwillbeimportedfromBFPL,whichproducespowerfrom
the use of Natural Gas. The remaining power (approx 3.5MW)
willbegeneratedbyexcesssteamfromtheoperationoftheNA
plant.
36
Once operating, the synthesis of nitric acid gives off significant
waste heat that will be transferred to a steam system. Some of
this steam will be used in the process units of the TANPF (for
example air heaters), with the remaining excess heat to be sent
throughtoahighefficiencyturbinetogenerateelectricalpower
through the use of steam. This allows for a significant decrease
in the energy required to operate the TANPF and thereby
significantly reduces the air emissions and greenhouse gases
produced.
In case of a power outage, emergency power (for lighting and

safe plant shut down) will be provided by onsite diesel
generators.
SteamGrid
In normal operation, the TANPF will have its own independent
steam grid comprising several levels of pressure (ranging from
46 to 6.5 bar). This steam will be produced from the operation
oftheNAplant.
Due to the selfsufficient nature of the NA plant steam process,

the TANPF will require steam imports from BFPL to help pre
heatcertainunitsandfeedthesteamturbinesduringstartupof
the NA plant. Startup of the NA plant will require an external
steamsupplyfromBFPLwithapeakdemandof40t/hofsteam
at46barpressureand388Ctemperature.
5.6.8 InstrumentandPlantAirSystem
Three electric driven compressors, each designed for 50% of
maximum air consumption, will provide compressed air that
will be dried and used for instrument and general work (tools
etc). The capacity of each compressor will be about
1,000Nm
3
/h.
5.6.9 SupportFacilities
SupportfacilitiesthatwillberequiredfortheTANPFareshown
onFigure5.4andinclude:
Administrationofficeandstaffamenities.
Chemical /raw material store The chemical/raw material
store will be used to store given quantities of raw material
and chemicals to allow for about 1.5 months of normal
consumption(seeSection5.6.5forfurtherdetails).
SparepartsstoreThesparepartstorewillbeusedtostore
sets of replacement parts for machinery or full
machines/devicesthataredeemedcriticalfortheoperation
oftheTANPF.Thesparepartstoremayalsocontaindayto
daymaintenanceconsumables.
WorkshopExistingfacilitiesattheBFPLplantwillbeused.
The workshop will be used for day to day maintenance
activities and will contain all the tools and lifting devices
necessarytoperformmaintenancetasks.
Central control room The control room will be used as a
central control centre where the technical operation of the
TANPFwillbe managed.Thecontrolroomwillbeblast,fire
and weatherproof. The control room will consist of a fully
distributed and advanced control system to ensure the safe
operationandmanagementoftheTANPF.Thecontrolroom
willbemannedbyatleastonepersonatalltimes.
Field laboratory The laboratory within the TANPF will be
usedtoanalyseproduct/samplesfromtheprocessunitsand
forstoragesothatproductqualityandsafeoperationcanbe
monitored.Amainlaboratory,locatedattheexistingfacility
atBFPLwillbeusedformostanalysis.
Safety, First Aid and Fire Station building The safety and
First Aid facilities will be used to host emergency medical
andsafetyequipment/gearsothatFirstAidcanbeprovided
onthepremisesoftheTANPF.TheFireStationwillhostthe
firefighting brigade that shall be specially trained and
equipped for the specific hazards of the TANPF. These
services for fire will be provided by the existing services
locatedatBFPLwhichwillberetrofittedifrequiredtomeet
allrequirementsoftheTANPF.
GatehouseAgatehousewillbeprovidedattheentranceto
theSiteforthepurposesofsecurity.
Transport,RoadsandParking
Site access for the TANPF Project will be via Village Road, an
existingtwolanebitumenaccessroadconstructedtoservicethe
alreadyoperationalBFPLammoniaplant(Figure1.1).
Transport of TAN (bulk and bagged product) to local and

regional customers will predominately be via the existing local
roadnetwork.
A connecting internal road from the TANPF to the existing

Village Road,north ofthe Sitewill be constructed as part of the
project.FromVillageRoadproductswillbetransportedtolocal
customersviaBurrupRoadandtheKarrathaDampierHighway.
Truck loading will use a system consisting of front loaders,

bucketelevatorsandsilosincombinationwithatruckweighing
system. Approximately 25 trucks will operate per day for bulk,
baggedandsolutionproducts.
BNPL will have in place a parking area for use by transporters

on the Site, as well as offices (3 staff), workshop (3 mechanics)
and a parking/truck wash (with all runoff water to be directed
to the clean and/or contaminated surface water ponds). The
areaisforeseentobeadequateforparkingofafleetofabout20
roadtrains.
AccommodationFacility
Work force employed during construction will be
accommodated in either existing or new camps in Karratha or
Dampier, depending on availability. No accommodation will be
inplaceontheBurrupPeninsulaasaresultofthisproject.
37
Permanent housing for operational workforce will be built or
acquired in the Karratha region (for about 60 Karratha based
personsintotal).
Sewage
Sanitary waste will be collected by authorised personnel using
trucks and transported to an offsite treatment plant. The
amount of sanitary waste is estimated to be a maximum
0.2m
3
/person/day. During the construction an average of 400
persons will be on site with a peak of 650 persons. When the
TANPF is in normal operation a total of 60 persons will be
employed (including shift personnel). Sanitary waste storage,
collection and disposal will be organised sufficiently for the
number of personnel onsite in accordance with all relevant
legislativerequirements,includingthoseoftheWADepartment
ofHealth(DoH).
Lighting
The provision and use of artificial lighting are required for
safety and operational reasons as the TANPF will operate on a
24 hour, seven days a week basis. Artificial sources of light will
be used during the construction and operations phases of the
TANPFasfollows:
Lightingtoenable24houradayactivitiesattheTANPF.
Lighting within the construction site, should nighttime
worksberequired.
The permanent lighting system for the TANPF will be

determined in the detailed design phase for the TANPF.
Permanent artificial lighting will be reduced to the least
practicable level for the safe conduct of operations, with design
considerationsincluding:
Needforthelight;
Timing requirement for the light, such as timers to
extinguishlights;
Shielding to limit light spill to within the Site (where
possible);
Light positioning, such as reducing height and using
screening;
Orientation of lights away from Hearson Cove (where
possible);and
Reducingwattages.
5.7 ProjectLifeCycle
5.7.1 Construction
Construction of the TANPF will take approximately 30 months
with the workforce level likely to vary over the entire period.
Duringpeakperiods,approximately650personswillbeon site
while the mean construction workforce is expected to be
approximately 400 persons. These numbers include all
categories of construction workforce personnel. Construction
activities will be conducted during normal project working
hourswiththepotentialforsomeoutofhoursactivities.
SitePreparationandEarthWorks
The proposed site preparation works for TANPF will include
(butnotnecessarilybelimitedto):
Removingvegetationwithinthedesignatedarea;
Preparing the plant footprint including laydown and
stockpileareas;
Dewateringandtrenching(asrequired);
Establishingwaterfacilitiesincludingconstructionpotable
waterandwastewatertreatmentplant;
Sitedrainage;
Establishingperimeterfencing;and,
Roadandaccesstracksforconstruction.
CivilWorks
TheproposedcivilworksforTANPFwillinclude:
Excavation for foundations and other civil works (eg.
footings);
Controlledblasting(ifrequired);
Laying of concrete pad/footings including curing of the
concrete(waterrequirement);
EquipmentStorage/constructionlaydown;and
PreparationofammoniapipelineandutilitiesfromBFPL.
Should blasting be required, this will be controlled, low impact

blasting, so as to manage potential risks associated with the
adjacent BFPL facility, located immediately to the west. Due to
thesensitivitytovibrationsoftheheavyrotatingmachinery,for
examplecompressorsandturbines,operatingattheBFPLplant,
blasting must be performed in a very controlled manner to
avoid tripping of the ammonia plant. Therefore, the use of
explosives will be avoided or limited to the absolute minimum,
and if used blasting will be carried out in a very controlled
manner. Controlled blasting is normally performed with a
number of low intensity charges, which are initiated in a
sequence.
38
PlantInstallation
The proposed activities associated with plant installation for
TANPFwillinclude:
Transport of construction materials on and offsite (via
KarrathaDampierRd,BurrupRdandVillageRd)including
cranes;
Operationofcranes;
Grindingandwelding;
Insulationandpainting;
Nondestructivetesting(incorporatingxraytestsofwelds);
Joiningcoolingwaterlines(resins,glassfibre);and
LandingofprefabricatedComponents.
The landing of components for the plant can be undertaken via

the Dampier Public Wharf or Mermaid Marines Wharf. The
Dampier Public Wharf currently has a maximum capacity of
300T. Alternatively Mermaid Marines Wharf has a larger
capacity of 2,000T which is well within the capability of
acceptingallnecessarycomponentsfortheTANPF.Useofeither
of the facilities for the landing of plant components will be
negotiated under a commercial agreement between BNPL and
MermaidMarineortheDampierPortAuthority.
General
Proposed general activities associated with the construction of
theTANPFwillinclude:
Workers commuting to site (using buses to transport all
personneltoandfromtheSite);
Use of existing roads, power, water, sewage and waste
disposalfacilities.
Preparationofonsiteworkerfacilities(cribroomsetc.);
Vehiclemovementsforconstructionandinstallationofplant
equipment;
Offsite construction workforce camp (in Karratha or
Dampier);
Fuelstorage;and
Refuellingofvehiclesandmachinery.
5.7.2 Emissions,DischargesandWasteduring
Construction
AtmosphericEmissions
Construction activities associated with earthworks and
vehicularmovementarelikelytoresultinatemporaryincrease
in atmospheric emissions across the Site. Emissions will result
from the use of heavy machinery and plant equipment, the
runningofgeneratorsandincreaseduseofvehiclesrequiredfor
constructionworkforcetransport.
Dust emissions are expected to be greatest during the
construction phase and are likely to vary depending on the
construction activity and the prevailing wind conditions.
Earthworks for the TANPF, area for surface water ponds, and
trenching and filling are all likely to result in increased dust
levels. Construction will also see an increase in vehicle
movements over unpaved roads and access tracks within the
Site,whichwilladdtodustcreationduringconstruction.
SolidNonHazardousWaste
Solidnonhazardouswasteshallmainlybecomposedofgeneral
refuse such as building rubbish (including metal, plaster board
etc.) and packaging material. All wastes will be segregated and
disposedofaccordinglydependingonthetypesofwaste.
LiquidWaste
No significant amounts of liquid waste are expected during
construction apart from potential water resulting from
dewateringwhichisexpectedtobeverylimited(ifrequired).
5.7.3 Commissioning
Commissioning is scheduled to take six months and will start
three months prior to mechanical completion of the TANPF. To
assist the contractor (who will have overall responsibility for
commissioning) with commissioning, suppliers of the main
equipment will be invited to have an involvement in
commissioning of the TANPF. Also, all plant operators will take
partinthecommissioningphaseasaformofadvancetraining.
LeakTesting
Leaktestingutilisingairorwaterislikelytobeperformedonall
elements required to be leakfree in the TANPF process units.
Any contaminated materials will be sent offsite to licensed
contractorsfortreatmentanddisposal.
PressureTesting
Pressure testing shall be performed on all elements required to
be pressure certified or expected to operate in pressurised
conditions in the TANPF. Testing of elements that require
certification shall follow the relevant procedure according to
applicableregulationsandcodes.
CommissioningofTANPF
Commissioningshallinvolvethetestingofallsystemswithinthe
TANPF independently or in a given combination including
control systems, electrical and all process units. Process units
shall either be tested with water or with the actual fluid for
operation.
39
All units may require cleaning prior to actual testing. All waste
developed from cleaning process will be collected and disposed
offappropriatelyinaccordancewithrelevantlegislationandthe
wastemanagementplanwithintheCEMP.
Commissioning
Duringblowingoutofthenitricacidplant(cleaningwithair)air
with small amounts of dust and sand will be emitted to
atmosphere.
More generally, all pipe work is likely to be blown clean by air

beforebeingleakorpressuretested.
Althoughsomesectionsmayrequirecleaningwithsolventsthat
can evaporate, it is not foreseen that significant amounts of
solventsshallbeused.
SolidWaste
During commissioning a number of systems may be operated
outsidenormaloperatingconditionsthatmayresultintheneed
to replace consumable parts of the systems more frequently
than during nominal operation. For example the oil unit of the
turbo set in the NA plant will be cleaned by circulating oil
through the oil filter. The cartridges of the oil filter will be
changed when these filters are spent. The spent cartridges are
non hazardous wastes and will be disposed of appropriately in
accordancewithrelevantlegislationandthewastemanagement
planwithintheCEMP.
LiquidWaste
SomeflowlineswithintheTANPFwillbecleanedwithwateror
water with chemicals. For example, the process gas cooler
system of the NA plant will be boiled out with water and some
chemicals.
In most cases the spent water will be sent accordingly to either

the contaminated or clean surface water ponds. If spent water
contains a significant amount of special compounds (oil for
example) it shall be treated as special waste, the procedure for
which shall be clearly stated in the waste management plan
priortocommissioning.
Thewaterusedforleaktestingand/orpressuretestingwillalso
besenttoeitherthecontaminatedorcleansurfacewaterponds.
Any contaminated materials will be sent offsite to licensed
contractorsfortreatmentanddisposalasrequired.
Some machinery may require exceptional oil purging during

commissioning. The resulting liquid waste shall be treated
accordingly. Procedure shall be clearly stated in the waste
managementplanpriortocommissioning.
Sanitarywastewatershallbecollectedbytruckfortreatmentas
describedinSection5.6.9.
5.7.5 Operations
Although it is likely to operate for a much longer period, the
TANPFwillbedesignedforaminimumlifetimeof20years.
Itwillhaveanannualuptimeof90%minustheprovisionofany
downtime due to market reasons or other reasons that are not
related to plant operations. An interstage NA storage tank will
allow the NA plant and the AN solution and TAN plants to
operateindependentlyforupto two days. This is deemed to be
adequate in terms of time, for plant maintenance (e.g. catalyst
change in NA plant, necessary cleaning in the TAN plant etc.).
WhentheNAplantisshutdown,thenecessarysteamandpower
tomaintaintheAN/TANproductionwillbeprovidedbyBFPL.
The operation will require 60 full time (direct) personnel.

Certain positions will be outsourced (eg. in bagging,
maintenance,transport)andarenotincludedinthisfigure.
Production(Operations)Phase
In the normal production phase all units in the TANPF will
operate at a steady rate that is close to the nominal production
rate or at least within the minimum safe operating parameters
asperthedesign.Thiswillbe:
760MTPDfortheNAplant;
965MTPDfortheANsolutionplant;and
915MTPDfortheTANprillingplant.
Truck loading and bagging of TAN will be operated to match

productionlevels.
Normal operation may also include normal maintenance on

systems,whichincluderedundancy(forexamplepumps1outof
2).
StartUp,ShutDown,UpsetConditions
Scheduled shutdowns may result from the need for extra
ordinary repairing, market situation (no demand), routine
maintenance or a combination of factors. Typically, scheduled
shutdowns shall follow a given and safe procedure so as to
minimise the amount of unrecoverable product within the
system, as well as minimise the creation of higher emission
levels associated with shutdown procedures (see Table5.10,
Table5.11andTable5.12).
Unscheduled shutdowns, though rare, may result from the

malfunction of any given critical system within the units of the
TANPF. Malfunction is identified as either the physical inability
of the system to perform the required task or unsafe operation.
In either case the relevant units shut down automatically
accordingtoapredeterminedsafesequence.
40
Upset conditions may result from some perturbation to the
systemthatpreventstheTANPFfromstabilisinginnominaland
steady conditions. Upset conditions may require special
attention and additional personnel (such as laboratory
personnel)sothatsteadyoperationcanbereachedagain.
Start ups will always follow a given procedure and sequence

that are designed to bring the TANPF to nominal operation
status within a given timeframe, in a safe manner and with
minimisedemissionsandimpactsontheenvironment.
All shutdown, upset and startup conditions will be carefully

monitored by BNPL staff trained in accordance with strict
operating procedures set out in TOPS and the Operations
EnvironmentalManagementPlan(OEMP).
WorkforceandHoursofOperation
TheTANPFwilloperate24hoursperday,sevendaysaweek.It
is anticipated that the onsite workforce will comprise 60
people, inclusive of six to eight administration staff who will be
present during standard daytime working hours. There will
typicallybetwoshifts,withshiftstonominallybebetween7am
to7pmand7pmto7am.Thisstartfinishtiming,alongwithall
staff being bussed in and out of the TANPF will help avoid
potential cumulative impacts on traffic on the congested roads
aroundKarrathaandDampieratpeaktimes.
RoutineMaintenance
Every year the TANPF will be stopped for preventive
maintenance for approximately one week. Additionally, every
halfyeartheNAplantwillbestoppedforachangeofthePt/Rh
catalyst.
Lighter maintenance work may also be performed during

scheduledorunscheduledstopsofshortertime(forexampleair
filterchanges,cleaningofdryerdrumsetc.).
TransportofTAN
SeeSection5.6.5.
Operation
TheTANPFwillbedesignedtomeetstatutoryrequirementsfor
allemissionsasaminimum.Awastewatertreatmentfacilitywill
be operating on site to treat all wastewater produced by the
TANPF. Contaminated wastewater will be evaporated in a
contaminated surface water pond, with sludge removed by
licensed contractors (as discussed above). Clean water shall be
exported back to the Water Corporation via a pipeline in
accordancewithapprovedMinisterialandlicenceconditionsfor
release of water to the Water Corporation return line (as
discussedabove).
For the NA plant, Nitrous Oxide (N2O) and Oxides of Nitrogen
(NOx) will be continuously emitted to the atmosphere. The
former will be controlled via gas mixing and distribution to the
catalytic gauzes, proper raw material filtering, with further
abatement by catalytic decomposition in the reactor, while the
latter will be controlled via a high pressure absorption design,
use of chilled water in the tower and abatement of the tail gas
fromthecatalyticreactor.
N2O emissions will be less that 100ppm while NOx emissions

will be below 75ppm. In addition to continuous emissions,
fugitive emissions of NOx are also expected to occur during
fillingofnitricacidstoragetanksandplantshutdown(venting).
Fugitive emissions of NOx during filling are expected to be very
low, and will produce a maximum of approximately 0.04g/s
(1.5kg/day) of NOx. Tanks will only breathe NOx during
daytime, with zero emissions at night. These emission sources
have been included in the dispersion model, conservatively as
venting0.04g/sforallhoursofthedayforeachtankvent.
FortheANplantcontinuousemissionswillbeemittedfromone
single stack into which a common scrubber will exhaust all air
used from the plant. The use of BAT shall be reflected in the
exhaust air quality (<30mg/Nm
3
particulate and <50mg/Nm
3
ammoniaasperEFMABestAvailableTechniques2000).
SolidWaste
Anyspillsoforganicadditivesorcoatingagentfromtheoffspec
treatmentunitthatisexpectedtocontainsignificantamountsof
TAN shall be recovered and treated as special waste. The waste
management plan (to be completed prior to operation and
included in the OEMP) shall describe procedures for
managementofhazardouswasteindetail.
More generally speaking, other liquid or solid wastes that may

result in a mixture of TAN and organic compounds shall always
betreatedasspecialwaste.
For the NA plant catalysts will be collected and returned to the

catalyst manufacturer. Spent filter elements (air etc.) will be
collectedassolidnonhazardous,ifdeemednonhazardous.
More generally speaking, normal operation, routine

maintenance and replacement of consumables such as filter
elements, pump seals, gaskets etc. will generate solid non
hazardouswaste.
Therewillalsobesolidsaltsresultingfromtheoperationofthe
contaminatedsurfacewater pond.Thesesaltsshallbecollected
anddisposedasperlegislativerequirements.
Procedures for management of nonhazardous waste will be

clearly documented in the waste management plan (to be
incorporatedintotheOEMP).
41
LiquidWaste
TheonlyliquidwastesourcesresultingfromtheTANPFprocess
duringnormaloperationare:
Oilresidueandsludgefromtheheatexchangersandstorage
tankswillberecoveredandtreatedasspecialwaste.
Seawaterblowdownof350m
3
/hshallbeexportedbackto
the Water Corporation in compliance with the Water
Corporations approved Ministerial conditions for release of
watertoKingBay.
Water collected in the clean surface water pond shall be
controlled for pollution and once water is deemed of
acceptable quality, it shall be transferred to the Water
Corporationforfurthertreatment.
Spent oil from machinery shall normally be sent out to be
treatedasnonhazardouswaste.
Blow down and draining of equipment and miscellaneous
washings that may contain nitrogen will be sent to the
contaminatedsurfacewaterpond.
Liquid waste from the laboratory may contain special
chemicals that shall be treated as special waste (hazardous
or nonhazardous depending on the exact nature of the
chemicals).
Sanitary wastewaters shall be collected by truck for
treatment,asdetailedinSection5.6.9.
5.7.7 Decommissioning
Decommissioning activities will involve the recovery of catalyst
(platinum) from the heat exchangers and vessels in the NA
plant. The decommissioning phase will last approximately four
to six months with an average manning level of 20 personnel.
Upon decommissioning, the TANPF is not considered likely to
have any significant hazardous wastes or contaminated lands.
All left over wastes and contaminated material will be cleaned
and removed in accordance with relevant legislation and a
Decommissioning Environmental Management Plan (DEMP) to
bedevelopedpriortodecommissioning.
Where appropriate, potential impacts from decommissioning

have been discussed in Section8. Specific abandoning and
decommissioning requirements will be formulated and
discussed with the relevant state and federal regulatory
authorities at the time of decommissioning. Decommissioning,
includingtheDEMP,willbeconductedinlinewiththestandards
oftheday.
RemovalofPlantEquipment
Plant equipment and piping will be dismantled and removed
andthemetalrecycled.
RehabilitationofSite
The Site will be brought back to a level of an industrial zoned
area. Prior to decommissioning, a Decommissioning and Final
Rehabilitation Plan will be developed. This will specify control
measureswhichwillbeusedtoguidethemanagementofwater
resources, landforms, revegetation and infrastructure and
support facilities during decommissioning. If a contamination
issue is identified before or during the closure of the TANPF,
specific closure actions will be included in the plan. In addition,
equipment, buildings and other facilities will be removed.
Surface water ponds will be emptied and cleaned (with any
contaminated waste to be appropriately removed by an
approved waste contractor). Interconnections (piping) to the
BFPLsitewillberemoved.
Decommissioning
Some dust may be generated during decommissioning due to
removalofconcreteconstructionsandlevellingoftheground.
SolidWaste
Potential solid waste materials that may be created during
decommissioningoftheTANPFare(butnotlimitedto):
Insulation;
Cabling(copperwillberecovered);
Piping(toberecycled);
Equipment(toberecycled);
Concrete;
Asphalt;
Rubber(beltconveyors);
Gaskets;
Prilltowerskirts(fabric);and
Glassfromwindows.
Some instruments may contain radioactive substances and

spentcatalystsandotheraccumulatedsubstancesandthesewill
be handled in accordance with relevant legislation and BNPLs
wastemanagementplanincorporatedintheDEMP.
LiquidWaste
Potential solid nonhazardous waste materials that may be
created during decommissioning of the TANPF are (but not
limitedto):
Oil(fromturboset);and
Sludge(fromcleaning).
42
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19

The TANPF will be located at Site D in the King Bay/Hearson

As noted in Section2.2.1 planning approval will be sought from

Based on the land requirements of the TANPF, laydown areas

The Burrup Peninsula has developed as a major industrial and

The northsouth Burrup Road service corridor (see Figure5.1)

AN can be manufactured into several different grades to suit

AN is classified as a Class 5.1 oxidising agent and is designated

There are three main hazards associated with ammonium

The most important parameters that influence the hazard and

Deflagration is not constrained by dimensions and is said to

The HES requirements of the TANPF Project start with

The design of the TANPF Project adheres to sound engineering

The TANPF will use BAT to minimise emissions to ALARP. The

The following Best Available Technology (BAT) will be used to

In the NA plant some N2O will be formed in the burner where

The NA plant will have no boiler installed for continuous

Furthermore, all vapours produced in the process will be

TOPS does not replace the TANPF Projects compliance with

Generally, all raw materials and chemicals used in the TANPF

The AN solution plant technology selected represents a reliable

The TAN prilling plant will use an organic internal additive to

As part of the evaluation of risk associated with storing of TAN

For bagged TAN product storage similar simulations have been

In addition to process safety, there will be a focus on

Fire prevention requirements have also been included in the

To ensure safe management of the product from the TANPF,

An annual safety program will be designed and established to

Employees will be equipped with ID/access cards to be worn

Prior to commissioning and operations, an emergency plan will

All process structures and vessels will be designed for seismic

The TANPF has been designed for an operating life of 20 plus

In the event of flooding due to a heavy rainfall and/or storm

Erv|rorrerla| Resources Varagererl Auslra||a Ply Lld

The following outlines the various unit operations and

The gas is cooled down further and condensed, forming nitric

The process gas is compressed to the selected absorption

The acid concentration will be optimised tomatch the AN plant

The following is an overview of the AN solution plant process.

The circulating stream leaving the neutraliser enters a cyclone

In order to generate products of the specified properties, a

Bulk TAN will be transported to the consumers by trucks only,

AN solution may be loaded on trucks from the AN storage tank

During precommissioning, commissioning and start up some

The Water Corporation facility was issued with WA Ministerial

The Water Corporation as owners and managers of the brine

Desalinated water will be used for fire fighting and utility

The heat from the TANPF process operations is taken out

The clean surface water pond will store rainwater collected

Contaminated water (eg. miscellaneous drips/drains/floor and

The water ponds will be located at an altitude above sea level

Some bunded areas that may contain special components

Clean surface water, such as rainwater, shall be collected

All contaminated streams (waste) shall be sent to the

There may also be exceptional drainage of bunded areas

In case of a power outage, emergency power (for lighting and

Due to the selfsufficient nature of the NA plant steam process,

Transport of TAN (bulk and bagged product) to local and

A connecting internal road from the TANPF to the existing

Truck loading will use a system consisting of front loaders,

BNPL will have in place a parking area for use by transporters

The permanent lighting system for the TANPF will be

Should blasting be required, this will be controlled, low impact