Problem No. 23: CO₂ compressor capacity limitation

The CO₂ compressor in a urea plant is a unique and interesting high-pressure rotating piece of equipment. CO₂ is compressed from more or less atmospheric conditions to supercritical conditions. The CO₂ is saturated with water, mixed with air and sometimes contaminated with the absorption solution from the ammonia plant. This means that its behaviour is not always easy to predict and having sufficient experience is very important. As the CO₂ compressor is often a limiting factor in the urea plant, how best to debottleneck it is always an interesting topic.