Where possible, fertilizers should be stored in closed storage to protect the product from the weather (sun, rain etc.). The ideal storage conditions for urea granules in the summer season in the Gulf region are discussed.
Pressure transmitters have become essential parts of virtually all urea plants. This discussion looks at a case where a plant is experiencing frequent faults with a reactor pressure transmitter. The urea industry shares its experiences and solutions.
A discussion about the causes for a change in urea product colour. Stainless steels exposed to carbamate containing solutions in the urea synthesis section can be kept in a passive state by adding a minimum amount of oxygen. If the oxygen content drops below this minimum, active corrosion starts, which can be identified by a shiny silver colour on the surface.
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.