Keywords: Ammonium nitrate, Energy conservation, Plant safety, Environmental protection.

The paper deals with the production of 95% ammonium nitrate (AN) solution feedstock for further processing into AN-based fertilizer, as practised in several of Norsk Hydro's European fertilizer plants.

Besides some history on the development of the technology and the process description, the main attention is given to some specific aspects of the process, i.e. the reduction of energy consumption, the precautions to reduce the pollution, and the improvements in design, as well as operating parameters, used to prevent any unsafe situation.

Roger Antonus, Hydro Fertilizer Technology B.V., Brussels, Belgium.

16 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, 4 refs.