The waste water treatment section in a urea plant processes the water containing NH3-CO2 and urea from the vacuum system in the evaporation section. This discussion looks into the possible root cause of problems with the concentration in the waste water section feed tank of a urea plant and the off-grade condensate produced.
In a urea plant, too much carbamate solution recycle back to the synthesis section will increase the amount of water in the synthesis and will negatively influence the reactor conversion figures. Fouling in the recirculation section can sometimes cause these operational problems, but how can fouling be identified as the root cause of a problem?
Hot prills can easily cause caking which leads to lump formation and consequently dust formation when these lumps are crushed. This all leads to poor product quality and customer complaints, but how can hot prills be avoided?
The protective loose liners in high pressure urea synthesis equipment require an accurate and reliable leak detection system in order identify in time when there is a leak in the liner, but locating a small leak is not always easy to find. Several methods are available but which works best for small leaks?
The function of a HP scrubber is to reduce the ammonia content in the inert stream coming from the high pressure synthesis section by washing the inert stream with the recycle carbamate and cooling it against cooling water. This discussion helped to find the root cause of problem when the temperature in the top of the HP scrubber increased unexpectedly.
It is commonly known that any urea plant has a certain minimum plant load, typically 60% of its design capacity. But why is this so critical for urea plants?
Approximately 75% of all urea plants worldwide still produce prills. This discussion reports on the experiences of different plants and the solutions available to increase the strength of urea prills to reduce dust problems during handling.
A discussion on what measures can be taken to unblock pipelines and heat exchangers after a urea plant shutdown.
Operating at the wrong synthesis operating pressure is always a tricky situation for any urea plant operator, knowing that operating at too high a pressure will lead to the pressure safety valves blowing off. The key is to measure the synthesis pressure in a reliable way.
In several sections of a urea plant, pipelines can become easily blocked when temperatures become too low and during a shutdown of the plant blocking can occur if the right measures are not taken.